Camp Romance
by AngelRosemary
Summary: The whole gang goes on a "Team-Building" school field trip to a camp. When Bakura is assigned to be Marik's partner, will he finally have the opportunity to confess his feelings and break Marik of his denial? Contains mostly Thiefshipping, generous amount of Deathshipping, mentions of Puzzleshipping and hints of Puppyshipping. Contains coarse language and shonen-ai.
1. Half The Fun Is Getting There

**Author's Note: Hullo, AngelRosemary here! Well, after watching the entire **_**Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series**_**, as well as most of Season 2, I can no longer suppress my thiefshipping urges. I've written a few **_**Adventure Time With Finn and Jake**_** stories in the past, but this is my first **_**Yu-Gi-Oh**_** fanfic, so do try to be patient with me. I appreciate constructive criticism and live for reviews. **

**By the way, the three Yami's have been granted their own bodies in this story, and they attend the same school as everyone else. (Yami Bakura and Yami Marik have adopted the same last names as their former hosts. Yami Yugi's last name is Atem, to avoid questions about his relationship with Yugi.) Since this occurs with little to no explanation in several of the fanfics that I've read, I'm not going to bother coming up with a clever excuse either. C:**

**With no further ado, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Yu-Gi-Oh**_**, **_**Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series, or Survivor.**_

"Hey, Bakura, let's play a game."

Bakura ignored the tanned Egyptian seated next to him. Keeping his eyes closed, he nuzzled into the dirty, rattling window of the bus, hoping to procure some kind of comfort. Instead, the cold glass and shaking momentum of the bus only made his head ache. A finger jabbed into his arm, adding to his discomfort and annoyance.

"Come on Kura, play a game with me. I'm bored."

Bakura swatted the hand away, still trying in vain to rest. The finger returned immediately, poking his arm harder and with more earnest.

"Bakura, are you really sleeping? Hello?"

His brow furrowed, but he continued in his dogged pursuit to ignore Marik.

"Hello, Bakura? Are you dead?" Marik shook his arm determinedly. "Earth to Fluffy! Wake up!"

All hopes of peace shattered, Bakura gave in to his frustration. He lifted his head and snarled, "WHAT?!"

"Oh, good. For a second, I thought I'd lost you, Fluffy."

"Don't call me Fluffy." He leaned his head back against the window, sighing in defeat.

Marik smiled and bounced up and down in his seat enthusiastically. "Let's do something, like play…uh… oh, punch buggy! Hey, there's one!"

Bakura didn't have time to react before Marik slugged him in the arm. The albino glared at his friend and shoved him off his seat onto the bus floor.

"Ah, Bakura, watch it! You could've bruised my perfectly toned ass!"

"F*** your ass."

Yami turned around in his seat in front of the pair, smirking. "You wish, Bakura." Laughing, he ducked down to avoid the arm reaching out to slap him.

Their driver peered menacingly into her rearview mirror. "Hey, do I need to separate you boys!?"

"Nooo."

Marik climbed back into his seat, still grinning like a madman. Bakura raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you in such a cheery mood?"

Marik's eyes lit up. "This is the first time that I've ever been to camp. It'll be an adventure! We'll be just like the people from _Survivor." _He raised his own eyebrow, teasingly. "Why aren't you excited? At least we get a few days off from school."

Bakura sat up, lifting his head from the offending piece of glass in favor of the slick, stiff surface of the back of his chair. "That is true, but it isn't as though I work in school in the first place. Besides, this isn't just a normal field trip to a camp. It's a "Team-Building" camping trip."

Marik tilted his head, failing to understand Bakura's implications. "So? What does that mean?"

Bakura closed his eyes lazily. "Team-Building field trips occur when our teachers have a lack of confidence in our ability to choose our own friends. They decide that _everyone_ should be best friends with _everybody else._ On this logic, they arrange the students into groups or pairs based upon which people they think annoy each other the most, hoping that their gentle push in the right direction will sow the seed of a blossoming relationship, while, in reality, the students either have a miserably awkward time or take every opportunity to ditch their determined partner. By the end of the excursion, each student has more enemies than friends."

Marik blinked, then lowered his eyes sullenly. "Oh… so, I guess I'll be spending the next few days with Yugi?"

"Pretty much."

"Hey!" Yugi whipped his head around and attempted to direct a threatening glare in Marik's direction.

"What's with the face, Yugi? Do you have to sneeze?"

Yugi huffed and pouted, frustrated in his lack of ability to be intimidating. Yami smiled and patted Yugi on his back. "Don't listen to them, Aibou. Anyone would be lucky to be your partner."

Yugi brightened at his lover's encouraging words. He giggled and pecked Yami on his cheek. "Aw, thanks. It doesn't really matter what group we get assigned to be in. I'm going to find a way to spend time with you anyway. You're the only partner I need."

Marik wrinkled his nose in disgust while Bakura pretended to gag. The couple ignored them, snuggling into each other's embrace and continuing to whisper.

"Anyway," Marik continued, trying to ignore the affectionate display one row before them, "It doesn't sound like you'll have anything to worry about, Bakura."

"Why do you say that?

"Because, you don't like anyone anyway."

Bakura frowned. "What makes you think I don't like anyone?"

Marik's eyes widened. "Wait, do you like someone?"

Bakura felt his cheeks grow warm. "Uh, well, I mean…" Another punch was delivered to his shoulder.

"Shut up! Who is it? Is it someone I know?" Marik stared at Bakura pleadingly, his eyes glowing with interest.

Bakura looked down. "Er, no, it isn't someone you would know." Of course, this was nothing but a lie, but as someone who once had a reputation for sneakiness and deceit, he managed to fool his innocent partner.

Truth be told, Marik would know the person who Bakura liked- however, even the phrase 'liked' carried the wrong connotation. 'Loved' would be a more appropriate term. Despite his "partner's" irritating quirks and naivety, Bakura had never felt more grateful for another person's presence in his life. He might have made his affection known beyond his occasional flirting, if not for Marik's residence in that metaphorical closet. It was plain to everyone that Marik was gay, except for Marik himself. Bakura didn't quite understand why Marik continued to deny his sexuality- Yugi and Yami were happily in love, and anyone who had something to say about it got a face full of fist, courtesy of Yami. It wasn't as though Marik couldn't stand up to bullies, with the Millennium Rod always clenched tightly between his buttocks. Bakura wondered what Marik could be afraid of.

"Oh, well, I guess the person you like isn't coming with us, then. I still want to hear the details, though. Tell me everything about him."

"We're here! Everyone get your butts off my bus!"

"Oh, look Marik, we've arrived."

Everyone scrambled to grab their luggage so they could get off the bus first. Bakura snatched the small backpack out from under his chair and slung it over his shoulder. He waited as Marik reached above them to grab his suitcase and multiple carry-on bags.

Bakura snorted. "Way to 'rough it,' survivor."

"What are you talking about? I only packed the essentials." He shoved two of his carry-on bags into Bakura's arms. Bakura opened his mouth to protest. Smiling sweetly, Marik cut him off before he could complain. "Oh, Florence, will you be a dear and help me with my luggage? Thanks, love you honey."

Bakura rolled his eyes, but he held Marik's bags anyway. The teacher who had accompanied them on this field trip stood at the front of the bus.

"Alright, can I have everyone's attention, please?"

She waited for the students to quiet before she began her speech.

"Now, students, you're all in high school, so I expect you to behave like mature, young adults."

"Isn't 'mature young adults' an oxymoron?" Marik whispered in Bakura's ear. Bakura chuckled.

"OK, I'm going to announce the partner that you will be required to cooperate with in the activities for pairs. The first pair is Yugi Muto and Yami Atem."

Yugi gave a squeal of delight and glomped Yami. "Alright Yami, we'll be an unbeatable team!"

Yami smiled smugly, scanning the other patrons on the bus. "I have no doubts about that, Aibou."

"Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba."

Joey groaned. "What?! There's no way that I'm 'cooperating' with dat creep!"

Seto smirked. "You should be happy, Wheeler. Considering the size of your brain, you'll need all the help you can get, even in simple camp activities."

"Bwah, I don't need yer help!"

"Tristan Taylor and Duke Devlin."

"That's fine, at least I can keep my eye on Duke. You aren't getting anywhere near Serenity, Devlin."

"What's that supposed to mean, Tristan?

"Nothing, Serenity."

"Ryou Bakura and Melvin Ishtar."

Ryou and Melvin didn't say anything. Ryou glanced cautiously at Melvin, only to find that Melvin was staring back at him, grinning maliciously and licking his lips. Ryou shuddered and averted his gaze.

The teacher continued reading her list. Bakura listened patiently, waiting to hear his name called out.

"And last, but not least, Marik Ishtar and Florence Bakura."

The other students snickered at the mention of Bakura's real name. However, a subtle flash of his pocket knife silenced them. Marik broke into a smile and wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck.

"Yay, we're partners! I don't know what you meant about pairing people up that annoy each other. We never annoy each other, right, Florence?"

Another round of chuckles sounded inside the bus. Bakura didn't answer, instead putting a hand to his forehead.

"_This is going to be a long week."_


	2. Bows and Arrows

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mountain Dew.**

After all of the pairs were announced, everyone exited the bus and gathered in a group on the pavement, waiting for an employee of the camp to show them around. Lined up along the road were three cabins, and three more stood at the top of a small, nearby hill, which was covered in grass. After a few minutes, two women approached them from the top of the hill.

The students quieted when the pair arrived, staring at them in anticipation. One of the women was quite tall. She had pale skin (although not as pale as Bakura's) and silky blonde hair. She wore a plain, lavender t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. Smiling cheerfully, she announced, "Hello, my name is Ann. I'll be one of your camp counselors this week. I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you, and I hope that you're all ready to get to know each other a little better, too. For the next few days, we'll engage in many team-building activities that are sure to be lots of fun!" She finished her speech with a broad grin plastered to her face and her hands clasped together.

Bakura snorted. Marik elbowed him in the side.

The other woman stepped forward. A smile was on her face as well, although hers seemed more mischievous than friendly. She was slightly shorter than Miss Ann, and she had long, curly brown hair and freckles. She wore a dark purple shirt with a collar, a pair of baggy jeans, and black cap with the Mountain Dew logo on it. The cap was turned backwards, which, coupled with her particular facial structure, gave her a bit of a boyish appearance. She grinned wolfishly and stated, "The name's Marie. I'm getting paid to stand in your general area and make sure that you don't die. If you do die, I won't get paid. So don't die. Or I'll kill you." She stepped back towards Ann and looked at her, expectantly.

Ann rolled her eyes at Marie, and then directed her attention back to the kids. "The cabins located behind you are where the girls will sleep. The cabins on the hill are for the boys. Marie, please show the boys to their assigned cabins."

The boys followed Marie up the hill to the cabins. Once they reached the top, they could see that a grassy field spread out in front of the cabins, and another small hill rose to their left. Beyond that hill, nothing could be seen except trees. Marie began to list which boys were assigned to which cabin.

"Alright, Cabin 1, the one furthest from the cafeteria, has been assigned to Yami Atem, Florence Bakura ('Florence? Oh, sweetie, the girls' cabins are back down the hill,' Marie commented. Bakura glared and put a hand on his pocket, but he didn't say anything.), Ryou Bakura, Duke Devlin, Marik Ishtar, Melvin Ishtar, Seto Kaiba, Yugi Muto, Tristan Taylor, and Joey Wheeler.

Seto looked indignant. "What is the meaning of this?! There's no way that all ten of us are going to fit into that small cabin."

Marie shrugged. "There are four bunk beds, so two of you can either sleep on the floor or share a bed. If you share beds, just make sure that you have all of your clothes on before cabin inspection in the morning. Ann is sensitive about that kind of thing."

With that said, the boys entered their cabin and began placing their bags wherever they could find space on the floor.

Tristan voiced the concern that was on everyone's mind. "OK, how are we going to decide who has to sleep on the floor?"

"Actually," Yami commented, "I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with Yugi."

Yugi blushed, but he didn't deny this arrangement. "Alright, that means that only one person has to sleep on the floor, but who?"

Ann stuck her head into the door. "Boys, please come outside when you're done unpacking. I think that we have just enough time before dinner for an activity."

The girls were already outside, waiting for the boys. Once everyone was ready, Ann led the group up the second hill towards the woods. She strolled briskly to one of many dirt paths on her left. After a few minutes of walking, they came to a small clearing where three round targets sat on stands. Each target had four colored rings, the outermost ring being white, followed by blue, yellow, and red. Marie approached a small shack nearby, unlocked the door, and withdrew multiple bows and arrows.

Ann took an armful of bows and arrows and began to distribute them. "Our first team exercise is going to be archery. Everyone, line up at one of the three targets with your partner." Everyone shuffled into place. "Good, now, in this activity, one partner will shoot an arrow, and, after everyone has shot one arrow, their partner will fetch it for them. Then, the partners will switch jobs."

"Oh, this is the perfect activity for you, Joey. I know how much you love to play fetch."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?"

Duke raised his hand. "How does that teach us about teamwork? We aren't really working together to do anything."

Marie smirked. "It doesn't. We just didn't want to pick up after you."

"Oh, oh! Me first! Me first!" Melvin stepped forward, eager to master a new weapon. He planted his feet, raised his bow, and placed the arrow into position. A look of pure concentration and determination on his face, he pulled back the arrow, and…

It stuck into the dirt about a yard away.

"Ra, damn it!" Melvin threw his bow to the ground and stomped to the side. "This is dumb! Who needs bows and arrows when you could use a perfectly good knife?" He sat in the dirt, sulking.

Yami smirked and faced Seto. "Hey, I think I know how we can decide who has to sleep on the floor. Hey, members of Cabin 1, listen up!" The boys turned to look at him. "Whoever takes the worst shot with their last arrow doesn't get a bed tonight."

Melvin jumped to his feet. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"I think it's fair. Hey, guys, do you all think it sounds fair?"

"Yeah!"

"That's nine against one, Melvin. Of course, we could make an exception and exclude you from our competition, if you aren't up to a challenge."

Melvin sneered. "Oh, I'm up to the challenge. I'll show you with my next shot, pharaoh."

Yami chuckled before raising his bow and shooting his first arrow. It stuck into the middle of the yellow ring, one ring from the center.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever shot with a bow and arrow before?"

"Never."

Seto narrowed his eyes and aimed, determined to shoot better than Yami. However, his arrow landed in the blue ring, one less than Yami.

"Beginner's luck, Yami."

"Oh, so does that mean that you've shot arrows before, Kaiba?"

"…No."

Duke's arrow stuck into the white ring of the target, although he seemed satisfied simply to have outdone Melvin. Marik smiled, happy that Bakura had allowed him to shoot first. Bakura watched him try to mimic the posture of his classmates, unaware that he was aiming too high. He released the arrow, only to have it soar high above the target and disappear into the trees.

Joey chortled. "Hey, Melvin, you might not have to sleep on the floor after all."

The others joined in his laughter. Marik blushed and growled, "Hey, I was just warming up!"

"Is that why your face is so red?" Bakura commented, smirking amusedly.

Marik's face grew darker. He huffed and turned around, crossing his arms over his chest. "Whatever, _Florence._"

Bakura rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to join the others when they went to collect their partner's arrows. He held out his hand towards Marik. "May I?" Marik shoved the bow into his hands wordlessly. Bakura looked to his left at Ryou, who happened to be looking at him as well. Ryou smiled, and Bakura nodded. He glanced at Marik to make sure that he was watching. After making eye contact one more time, Bakura released his arrow at the same time the Ryou released his. The arrows whizzed through the air. Everyone watched in disbelief as the arrows hit the center of the same target at different angles.

Marik blinked. "Whoa."

Everyone looked back and forth between the two archers and the two arrows in silence for a moment. Then, Yugi let out a cheer. "Wow, guys, that was amazing!" Without looking, he raised a hand to close Yami's mouth, which he knew must be hanging open.

Brought back to his senses, Yami blinked and said, "Uh, yeah, where did you guys learn to do that?"

Ryou blushed and put a hand on the back of his head. "Oh, well, I have a cousin back in England who's made a hobby of archery. He gave us a few tips at the last family reunion."

Melvin, who was also previously awestruck, broke into a grin. He stood up and clapped Ryou heartily on the back, knocking him over. "A few tips?! You're a regular pro! You've got to teach me that, Ryou-kun." He extended his hand towards Ryou.

Ryou blushed and smiled shyly, taking Melvin's extended hand to help pull himself up. The others took turns shooting their arrows. Yugi's arrow stuck into the yellow ring, right across from Yami's. Joey's flew into a tree directly behind his target. ("Stop laughing at me, Kaiba!") Tristan's landed in the dirt beneath the target.

Marik stepped into position when the time had come for his second turn. He turned red, the eyes staring holes into him practically tangible. Raising his bow shakily, he prepared to aim at his target. Bakura decided to take his partner's nervousness as another opportunity to gain favor. He stepped behind Marik and placed a hand on his arm. Marik flinched, almost releasing the arrow on the spot.

"Bakura, what are you doing!?"

"I'm making sure that you don't sleep on the floor tonight. Relax."

Bakura pulled Marik's arms down so that he was no longer aiming at the sky and pushed his elbows into a better position. Bakura sighed as he felt Marik tense at his touch. "You need to ease up. Otherwise, you won't shoot correctly." He started kneading his fingers into Marik's shoulders.

Marik spun around, looking flustered. "Are you just coming onto me again, Kitty?"

"I'm not a kitty. And, no, if I was coming onto you, I would've offered to let you sleep with me after you lost our little contest."

The skeptical expression on Marik's face told Bakura that he didn't believe him, but he turned around anyway. "Very well. Continue."

Sporting a triumphant smirk, Bakura came up behind Marik and repositioned his arms again. He began giving Marik another gentle massage after he felt Marik's muscles tense again. Once Marik seemed sufficiently relaxed, Bakura inched closer to Marik, using his own legs to nudge Marik's into the correct posture. Marik never looked at Bakura or said a word during this, concentrating on the task at hand.

"Fluffy, my arms are getting tired. Can I let go yet?"

Bakura opened his mouth to give Marik the affirmative when something caught his eye. He smiled mischievously, pushing Marik's arms up. He leaned into Marik's ear, his hot breath ghosting over Marik's skin. Marik involuntarily shuddered, earning an even wider smirk from Bakura. He whispered, "Alright, let go… now."

The arrow was released. It whizzed high into the air, similar to Marik's previous shot. He turned to stare at Bakura in disbelief.

"What the frig was that, Bakura!? You completely missed the target!"

Bakura smiled smugly, crossing his arms and staring up at the sky. "Wait for it."

Suddenly, a small, blue object plummeted to the ground, right in the middle of the shooting range. Marik's arrow was lodged in the middle of it, and the area around the arrow was red and shiny.

"Oh my Ra! Marik and Bakura killed a bird!" All of the boys (except Ryou) gathered around to examine the specimen, still twitching with a remnant of life. Melvin squatted down next to it, poking it with his finger. He giggled every time it had a spasm at his touch. "_Poke. Poke. Heh heh."_

The girls (and Ryou) whined about how inhumane and gross the boys were being. Ann looked like she might throw up. "OK, boys, that's enough! Everyone, step away from the bird."

They begrudgingly obliged, backing up in favor of forming a wide circle around the bird. Ann whipped around to face Marik and Bakura, a serious frown marring her once cheerful features. "I don't tolerate the abuse of innocent animals at this camp. Marie, take these two to the Arts and Crafts shack. They can wait there for their classmates until dinner."

Marie chuckled and ruffled her co-counselor's hair. "Relax Ann, I can salvage this." Ann swatted Marie's hand away, still sulking. Marie stepped through the crowd towards the bird and picked it up in her hand. The arrow was dislodged from the bird's middle and tossed carelessly to the ground.

Still carrying the bird, she marched towards the path that they had taken to get there. Bakura and Marik scrambled to catch up with her. Marik punched Bakura in the shoulder for the third time that day. "This is all your fault, Fluffy." However, his seemingly aggravated words and actions were betrayed by the amused smile on his face.

Bakura smirked back, putting his arms behind his head lazily. "Oh, no, that was all you, Marik. You're a natural hunter. I'm sure that first shot you took endangered countless wildlife."

"Oh, shut up."

Meanwhile, back at the shooting range, everyone else was still excited about the bird. Tristan commented, "Well, I guess it's clear of who _won_ the contest."

"It's also pretty clear of who will lose." Duke smirked and gestured to Melvin and Ryou.

"Melvin, you're aiming far too high! You'll never hit the target."

"Who's trying to hit the target? I want to kill a bird too!"


	3. Arts and Crafts

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Twilight.**_

"So… Marie… what exactly are you planning to use that bird for?"

"Oh, you'll see, Ishtar. It's a surprise."

Bakura had a feeling that any surprise involving a dead bird wasn't going to be pleasant for its recipients. Still, he didn't have time to consider the options, as they had arrived at their destination. Marie unlocked the door to the small, log building and held open the door for Bakura and Marik. As the buzzing fluorescent light above them flickered to life, their eyes met three long, wooden tables, each with a long bench on either side. Paper plates were lined up along the edges of the tables, and the center was covered in an assortment of yarn, string, colored paper, felt, scissors, glue, crayons, markers, paint, glitter, sequins, stickers… well, in short, a large variety of art supplies.

"Alright, so, spoiler alert, one of our 'team-building' activities later this week is making a mask for your partner, based upon what design you think best fits your partner's personality. We have enough paper plates for you guys to make two. If you don't feel like making one, I couldn't care less what you do. Just don't leave the cabin until Ann comes to pick you up for dinner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I happen to have a job in the cafeteria."

An awkward silence followed after the door clicked shut behind Marie. Marik shrugged and sat at a table. "Well… I suppose I could make a mask for you now, Bakura. Maybe I'll make a mask for Ishizu when everyone else is working on theirs."

Bakura lay on the bench behind Marik, and then crossed his arms behind his head. "Just wake me when it's time to eat."

They existed in silence for a while, Marik focusing on the mask, Bakura staring at the ceiling. Bakura soon felt his head ache after looking towards the bright light for too long. He turned his head and realized that he had a perfect view of Marik's 'perfectly toned ass,' albeit through his tight, black jeans. Feeling his face burn, he tried to push out any naughty thoughts before his arousal became apparent. Still, he couldn't bring himself to turn away from it. "_I can't believe that it's right there. So close…" _Staring at it, he thought about how much he would just love to reach out and touch that ass, run his fingers over the soft flesh beneath that denim, take-

"Hey, Bakura, I finished your mask! Hey, what's wrong? You look sick."

Bakura lifted his head to look at Marik, his expression dazed. "Huh?" was his intelligent response.

"I said, I'm done with your mask." He held it up to his face. The paper plate had two triangular pieces of white construction paper taped at the top, each with a pink triangle colored inside. Several cotton balls were glued to the top as well, covering almost half of the plate. Below the cotton balls, two small slits had been cut out, presumably for the eyes. Above each eye was a dark, black arch. A huge frown was drawn towards the bottom, with two yellowing teeth sticking out. The whole thing had been doused in silver glitter.

Bakura blinked. "Care to explain the significance of your piece?"

Marik huffed. "Well, isn't it obvious Fluffy?" He pointed to each item that he described. "The triangles are your kitty ears, of course. This is your white, fluffy hair. I know that British people have bad teeth, but, now that I think about it, your teeth are pretty nice, so I guess I could use some whiteout later. Oh, and you wouldn't be Bakura if you didn't looked pissed off. As for the glitter, well, it's just that you're so pale, and so friggin' emo all the time, I thought that it would make sense if you sparkled."

"…Did…Did you just compare me to a vampire from _Twilight_?"

Marik didn't seem to hear the question. "So, what do you think?"

Bakura stayed silent for a moment, staring at Marik. Then, his lips curled into a smile. "I think that I would like to make a mask for you now."

"Oh, that sounds great! Don't worry, I won't peek while you make it." Marik turned around, busying himself by punching holes into his mask and looping a piece of white yarn through them. After several minutes, Bakura tapped his shoulder. "OK, I'm done."

Marik turned around, swinging his legs across the bench so he could face Bakura. Bakura held up the mask. A circular piece of light brown felt was glued over the entirety of the plate. Strands of yellow yarn were taped to the top. At the bottom, drawn with markers, was a mouth, hanging open with a pink tongue sticking out. Tiny, sketchy musical notes were drawn in permanent marker around the mouth. The most prominent feature of the mask, however, was the eyes. Eyes large enough to cover the top half of the plate were covered in purple sequins. Above the eyes were two sets of long, thick eyelashes.

Marik scrunched his nose. "Why are there black squiggles near my mouth?"

Bakura smirked. "Oh, they're musical notes. You know, to symbolize your passion for singing off-key to Lady Gaga."

"Hey, I have a beautiful singing voice! And why are my eyelashes so freakishly long?"

"They represent your gay tendency to wear makeup."

Now Marik was irritated. "Wearing makeup is not gay! I know lots of men who wear makeup!"

Bakura's smug smile grew. He was enjoying annoying Marik immensely. "Oh, really? Name three."

"Yami, Melvin, and you."

"Marik, all three of us are gay."

Marik spluttered, "Well, that doesn't make me gay, Kitty!"

Bakura's grin dropped at the mention of his much hated nickname. "Don't call me Kitty!"

"Why not?! You call me gay!"

"Because you are gay!"

"You shut the *EFF* up, Kitty!"

"I told you to stop calling me Kitty!"

Marik's frown twisted into a smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry _Kitty._ Does that bother you, _Kitty_?"

Bakura closed his eyes and bowed his head, his hands curling into fists. "Stop it."

Marik raised his hands to his head, holding them horizontally to mimic the wing shaped tufts on Bakura's head. "Meow, my name is Florence, meow, I have a girly name, meow, can someone fetch me a saucer of milk, meow?"

Bakura felt heat rise to his neck. His fists trembled. "I said BUGGER OFF!" He punctuated his statement by pounding his fist on the table.

Unfortunately for Marik, Bakura happened to smash a bottle of glue, squirting the contents onto the chest of Marik's lavender shirt. Marik's eyes widened in shock. "That was one of my favorite tops!" Then, Marik growled and grabbed a tube of blue paint from the table behind him, squeezing it in his hands to shoot the paint into Bakura's hair.

Suddenly, all was quiet. Marik froze, the probable consequences of his actions sinking in. He watched Bakura, who hadn't moved. Slowly, Bakura raised his head, smiling wider than Marik had ever seen. "…Um…Bakura?"

Before Marik could blink, Bakura was on top of him. Bakura pushed Marik against a table, keeping him in place with one hand on his chest. Laughing manically, he snatched a bag of beads from behind Marik and began pouring them over Marik's chest, where the glue was. "Kura, quit that!" Marik stretched his arm out behind him and began feeling around blindly. He grabbed a jar of rhinestones and poured them over Bakura's head, where they stuck in the paint.

It wasn't long before Marik began laughing along with Bakura as they covered each other with art supplies, wrestling playfully. Their fun was interrupted when the door to the art shack clicked open.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

Bakura and Marik froze in their current stances. Bakura lay on the floor while Marik straddled him, holding a cup of confetti dangerously close to Bakura's face.

Ann and Marie stood in the doorway, Ann with a look of astonishment and horror, and Marie with an expression of surprised amusement. The rest of the class stood behind the two counselors, trying to look around them to see what had happened. Ann huffed, "We'll see you two in the cafeteria _after _you both clean up this mess and take showers." She turned on her heel and began leading the class to dinner, not stopping them when they each took a peek inside and giggled at Marik and Bakura.

Marik sighed. "Well, at least we didn't get into too much trouble."

Bakura couldn't seem to stop smiling. He tilted his head back, enjoying the feeling of Marik straddling him. "That was fun."

Marik whipped his head down to face him. "Fun!? Bakura, look at this mess!"

Bakura stared up into Marik's sparkling amethyst eyes. "Oh, I'm looking at it. I'm looking at a real hot mess."

Marik blushed as he remembered the position they were in. He scrambled to get himself off Bakura and onto his feet. Bakura chuckled as he pushed himself up. "Shall we make our way to the showers?"

"But, what about the mess?"

"We're evil, not janitors."

"What if we were evil janitors?"

"Just come with me, Marik."

About half an hour later, the pair joined the rest of their class in the cafeteria. They carried their trays to the table at which the members of Cabin 1 were required to sit. Ryou looked up from his bowl of soup when he saw his former dark half and his former dark half's crush approaching. He smiled politely. "Oh, hey guys! I see that you recovered from your little mishap."

Bakura grunted and sat down next to Ryou. "Yeah, but I couldn't get all of the paint out. My hair hasn't been this blue since Season 0."

"I might still have a few beads stuck to my chest," Marik chimed in, sliding into the seat next to Melvin and across from Bakura.

"Hey, maybe you guys can figure out what we're eating," Melvin commented, sticking his fork into a brown lump that resembled some kind of meat.

Ryou giggled. "Melvin, Marie already told us what this is supposed to be. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, bread, and… what kind of soup did she say this was?"

Melvin shrugged. "Search me. It tastes like shoe polish."

"Yes, well, at least the mashed potatoes don't taste too bad."

Melvin looked up from his tray, a mischievous smile on his face. "Hey, Ryou, do you know how they made the mashed potatoes?"

"I assume that they mashed some potatoes."

"No, cafeterias never make real mashed potatoes. That would take too long. They buy packs of this white, potato flavored _dirt_. Then, they pour the dirt into boiling water until it forms potato flavored _mud_."

Ryou's stared down at his potatoes, his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"What, don't you trust me?"

Ryou blinked, then pushed his tray away. "I'm suddenly not hungry for mashed potatoes."

Melvin grinned wider. "What's wrong, Ryou? I like my mashed potatoes." He shoveled a forkful into his mouth and began talking with his mouth still full. "Mmm, that's some good mud."

"Oh, Melvin, stop that! You're going to make me sick!" Melvin continued to chew with his mouth open, enjoying his immature torture of Ryou.

Bakura snickered and leaned across the table to whisper to Marik. "I think your yami has a crush on my hikari."

Marik smiled. "It would seem so. Hey, that reminds me, I forgot to ask you more about that crush of yours. Go on, what is he like? Is he as sexy as I am, or, should I say, almost but definitely less sexy than I am?"

Bakura's face turned red. He didn't see a way to distract Marik at the present, so he decided to go along with his questioning and try to be vague. "Ah, well... he's musically talented." Bakura almost laughed at the absurdity of that statement.

"Oh, that's always attractive!"

"And….. he enjoys wearing skimpy clothing."

"Well, if you have the body to pull it off…"

"He also has the most beautiful eyes…" Bakura continued, staring dreamily at Marik, beginning to forget what he was doing.

"What color are they?"

"Purple." Bakura flinched as soon as the words lefts his mouth. "_Oh Ra. I've said too much!"_

Marik smirked and leaned a little closer to Bakura, their noses nearly touching. Bakura's breath hitched as he leaned back slightly.

"Bakura…" Marik drawled, still smiling teasingly, "Do you have a crush on-"

Marik was interrupted by a yelp across the table. In Ryou's haste to avoid getting slobbered on by Melvin, he had knocked over his bowl of soup. "Oh, bollocks! Not my soup!"

"Oh, let me help you clean up, yadonushi." Bakura leapt to his feet and hurriedly ushered Ryou to the nearest bathroom, relieved to be saved before he fully blew his cover.

Melvin blinked. "Well, Bakura's being weirdly nice. What's wrong with him?"

Marik shrugged. "I don't know. We were just joking around. He tried to convince me that he had a crush on Yami."


	4. Spin The Bottle

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Gravity Falls.**_

"I think that will do, Bakura. I'm dry now, and there really isn't any way to save this shirt."

Bakura ceased in handing Ryou paper towels and threw the wad that he had ready in his hand into the trash bin.

"Thank you, by the way."

"No problem."

Bakura pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against and started towards the door.

"Oh, wait, not so fast, Kura."

Bakura looked over his shoulder at Ryou.

"Why don't you tell me the real reason you rushed away from the table to help me?"

Bakura's expression remained blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, I saw you talking to Marik. It looked like you were getting pretty close. What happened?"

Sighing, Bakura turned to face Ryou, who stood in front of the bathroom's long row of sinks, his arms crossed over his chest. "I… may have let it slip out to him on the bus that I might possibly… not hate, someone."

Ryou's eyes widened. "You told him that you like him!?"

"Hush, not so loud! And, no, I didn't tell him that I 'liked' him specifically, but then he started asking me all these questions. It was plain to see who I was referring to, but, then again, the boy is so thick that he still probably doesn't know. I suppose I don't really have anything to worry about."

Ryou stared at Bakura, his face thoughtful. Bakura took his silence as the end of the conversation, and he stood to leave again.

"…Kura." He stopped. "Why don't you just tell him?"

Bakura snorted. "Ryou, whether Marik is gay or not doesn't really matter, Marik has convinced himself that he's straight. He wouldn't give up his charade and embarrass himself for anybody. If he knew that I was seriously interested in him, he would probably take more drastic measures to remind everyone of his sexuality. He might…" Bakura paused, gritting his teeth. "He might not let me be around him anymore."

"How could he not know that you're in love with him? You touch him and flirt with him all the time."

"OK, One: Love is a strong word. The King of Thieves loves nothing except gold and himself. Two: Marik is dense, so he most likely believes me to be teasing him, not serious."

"Aw, Bakura…" Ryou stepped forward, putting both hands on Bakura's shoulders. "No matter what Marik has told himself, he can't change who he really is inside. He'll come around, it just might take time."

Bakura didn't respond. Then, he raised his head, smiling playfully. "Speaking of love, how are you and Melvin?"

Ryou blushed and shoved Bakura lightly. "Bakura!" Bakura chuckled, and soon Ryou joined in, giggling quietly. "Oh, I know he doesn't seem this way, but Melvin's really very sweet. He acts very much like a large child. It's quite cute, actually."

"Alright, well, if he annoys you too much, just let me know. I can take care of him for you."

Ryou rolled his eyes, making his way to the door. "I don't know, Bakura. Melvin is pretty strong."

"Hey, what are you saying?!" Ryou laughed as he exited the bathroom with Bakura following closely behind.

Marie was waiting for them outside the door. "There you boys are. Dinner time is over. Line up with everyone else." Bakura approached the group, but Marie held up a hand to stop Ryou. "Oh, Ryou, you've got something on your shirt." Ryou looked down and was puzzled to find a tiny blue feather stuck to his front. He plucked it off the fabric and eyed it, twirling it in his fingers. He stared up at Marie, a look of horrified realization on his face. Marie winked and chuckled, gently giving him a push toward the others.

"Oh, hey Bakura! Did you get Ryou cleaned up?" Marik asked as Bakura walked up to him.

"Yes, he's fine. What are we doing now?"

"Ann and Marie said that they have another activity for us. I'm not sure what it is yet."

The class began its trek back to their cabins. Marik and Bakura walked in a peaceful silence. Marie led the boys to their cabins while Ann guided the girls to theirs. Once the members of Cabin 1 had all been accounted for, Marie announced the final activity of the day. "Alright kids, it's time for your last bonding exercise before lights out. Here's what we'll do. I'm going to lock the door with all of you in here. That way, you'll have no choice but to spend time with each other. OK, bye." In one swift, sweeping motion, she stepped out of the doorway, pulled out a key, and locked the door.

Yugi automatically sprinted to the door and jiggled the knob. "What in the world, Marie?! It's only 7:00. What are we supposed to do for so long?"

"I don't know. Sleep? Braid each other's hair? Play spin-the-bottle? It doesn't really matter, so long as I don't have to watch you brats until morning. Well, I'll be seeing you." She turned and walked away without another word.

"Hey, w-wait! Come back!" Yugi continued to rattle the door, clearly panicking. Yami stepped next to Yugi and started kicking it. The door didn't budge.

"Man, these girls come up with the worst team-building exercises ever," Duke commented.

Joey groaned and flopped onto his back on one of the beds. "Well boys, what are we going to do?"

Tristan shrugged. "I guess we could play a game."

Yami brightened at that idea. "Oh, let's play-"

"No!" Everyone except Yugi glared at Yami. "We're not playing duel monsters, or any other card game, for that matter," Marik growled.

"Unless it's strip poker," Bakura added, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

The room became quiet, as if everyone was considering this option. "Does anyone have a pack of normal playing cards?" Joey asked.

Unfortunately, no one did.

Melvin shrugged. "Maybe we should play spin-the-bottle."

Marik stared at him like he had grown an extra head. "Um, in case you haven't noticed, we're locked in this cabin, and there are no girls in here."

"So what? Half of us are gay, and the rest of us are bi."

"Not me," Marik countered. "I'm one hundred percent straight."

Melvin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyone got a bottle?"

Duke reached into his pack and pulled out a soda bottle which he had emptied on the bus. Since no one else had any idea of what to do until they felt like sleeping, everyone sat in a tight circle in the middle of the small space. Marik hesitated, standing to the side.

Seto raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, aren't you going to play?"

Marik shook his head quickly. "No way! I'm not gay."

Ryou smiled gently. "Come on Marik, we don't want to leave you out. It's just a game; it doesn't mean anything. The people who have to kiss aren't necessarily attracted to each other; it's just for fun."

Yami nodded. "Exactly. For example, if Yugi kisses anyone other than me, it's like kissing a dead fish to him. Right, Yugi?"

"Keep telling yourself that," Seto mumbled.

"I don't know…" Marik said slowly, eyeing Bakura as he did.

Yugi followed Marik's gaze, then smiled in realization. "Marik, we're not going to make fun of you if you play. Right, Bakura?"

"I make no promises."

"Bakura!"

"Oh, fine, I won't say anything. Come sit by me, Marik."

Marik smiled shyly at Bakura's invitation, finally giving in and stepping over to him. Once Marik was settled, Seto grabbed the bottle to take the first turn. The bottle spun smoothly over the floor before stopping on Joey.

Joey's face flushed, his eyes darting back and forth between the bottle and Seto. Seto sighed and leaned toward the boy sitting to his right, giving him a brief peck on his cheek. Joey turned an even brighter and possibly unhealthy shade of red.

Bakura snorted. "That was weak, Kaiba. We're not in middle school anymore. You have to give the person that the bottle lands on a real kiss."

Seto glared at Bakura, clearly indignant that his kissing skills were being questioned. Turning back to Joey, Seto grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and slammed their lips together in a rough kiss. After a few moments, he pulled back and let go of Joey. Joey fell flat on his back with a dazed expression.

"Was that better?"

"That was acceptable, yes."

Yami spun next. His face dropped when the bottle cap faced Duke. He looked to his side at Yugi. "Remember that it's just a game, Aibou." Yugi shrugged and smiled. Yami nodded at Yugi, then crawled over the bottle to Duke, pressing their lips together briefly.

Melvin placed his hand on the bottle eagerly. Bakura thought he saw a bluish shadow pass through Melvin's hand. He watched as Melvin twisted the bottle. It happened to land on Ryou.

Melvin grinned wolfishly and looked to Ryou, who blushed and stared back up at Melvin. In the blink of an eye, Melvin pounced on Ryou, towering over him with one arm on each side of his head. He leaned down and hungrily kissed Ryou. Ryou mewled a little loudly, but he otherwise didn't complain. Their eyes fluttered closed as Melvin threaded his hands through Ryou's hair, and Ryou wrapped his arms around Melvin's neck, pulling them closer together.

The rest of the group stared in awe. Marik coughed. "Um, guys? We're still playing a game, remember?"

Melvin broke the kiss reluctantly and noticed his audience. He smirked down at Ryou, his cheeks flushed and his mouth open slightly, panting. He lowered his head to kiss Ryou's forehead before sitting up. "We'll finish this later." Ryou sat up, too distracted to respond.

Tristan spun the bottle, and it landed on Yugi. Tristan shrugged indifferently and placed a quick peck on Yugi's mouth. Yami let out an involuntary growl as he did so, which caused Yugi to snicker and kiss Yami on the nose for reassurance.

Marik reluctantly took his turn. He flicked his wrist to spin the bottle and then snapped his hand back like the bottle was radioactive. Bakura smiled amusedly as Marik scrunched his eyes shut, as if this game couldn't be any more painful. His grin disappeared, however, when the bottle stopped spinning.

"Uh, Marik, the bottle stopped."

Marik timidly opened one eye, tracing its path in the direction of his subject of torture. However, relief visibly washed over him when he saw that it landed on Bakura. He smirked impishly, then rolled his eyes and wrinkled his nose dramatically. "Ew, I have to kiss Florence? Oh well, if I must."

A look of hurt flashed over Bakura's face for a second before it was replaced with an indignant expression. "What's wrong with kissing me, _Marik_?"

Marik looked at him strangely. "Um… I was being sarcastic, Bakura. I mean, who do you think I would rather kiss? Yami?"

"Hey!"

"Oh…" Bakura felt heat rise on the back of his neck, embarrassed that he had overreacted. Marik giggled at Bakura's humiliated blush, evidently enjoying the opportunity to make Bakura uncomfortable, rather than the other way around. Snickering, he reached his hand out, pushing past Bakura's hair and placing his palm on the nape of Bakura's neck. He pulled Bakura toward him and claimed his kiss, his lips gently molding to Bakura's. Bakura's eyes dropped shut. He leaned into Marik immediately, kissing back firmly. It was over just as quickly as it had begun, much to Bakura's disappointment. Marik pulled back quickly and turned his head, scrunching his face. For a horrible moment, Bakura thought that Marik was going to throw up after kissing him. To his relief, Marik let out a sneeze.

Yugi giggled cutely. "Aw, Marik sneezes like a kitten."

Marik turned back to Bakura with an expression of mock terror. "Oh my Ra, you didn't tell me that it was contagious, Kitty! Great, now I'm going to turn into a neko again because I kissed you."

"Not a kitty," Bakura mumbled half-heartedly, still a little dazed.

Marik chuckled and placed a hand on the top of Bakura's head, massaging the spot between his bat wings affectionately. Bakura closed his eyes and purred quietly.

"Whatever you say, Kitty."


	5. Canoe Races and Rock Climbing

Sunlight pierced through the window and struck Bakura's face. He cracked one eye open, then closed it again. After rolling onto his side so the sun no longer stung his eyes, they both fluttered open so he could scan his surroundings. Bakura lay in the bunk above Marik. He looked across the room at Ryou's bed. Ryou had felt bad that Melvin had to sleep on the floor, so he offered to let Melvin sleep in the same bed as him. Melvin was, of course, far too enthusiastic about this offer. Now, Melvin was sprawled out on his back, his legs dangling from the sides. Ryou was curled up on top of him, his head rising and falling with Melvin's chest.

Bakura shut his eyes and turned onto his face, hoping to get some more sleep before his annoying counselors came to wake everyone.

"Alright, everybody up!" Marie screamed, slamming the door open.

"_So much for extra rest."_

The members of the cabin groaned and stirred, trying to rouse themselves into waking. It wasn't long after the promise of breakfast that everyone to got up and dressed. Despite the disastrous dinner from the previous night, no one could deny that they were hungry. The boys were led to the cafeteria by Marie, where they were served eggs, bacon, and toast. However, no one touched their eggs after Melvin announced the way in which he knew they were prepared.

Ann stood at the front of the room and clapped her hands. "Attention, everyone!" The students gradually quieted, staring at Ann. "I'm going to announce our activities for the day. Directly after breakfast, we're having a canoe race. Then, we'll visit the rock climbing wall. There is also a hike in the afternoon. Finish up your breakfast and we'll make our way to the lake."

The lake was only a short walk from the cafeteria. A pond would have been a more accurate description, however, as one could probably walk all the way around the small, scummy lake in ten minutes. Six wet, dirty, white canoes were tied to stakes at the edge of the water. Once the entire class had gathered at the lake's edge, Marie pulled a bunch of old lifejackets from yet another nearby shed. She tossed one in each student's general direction.

"OK, it's time for our first team-building exercise for the day! We're going to have a little friendly competition between the boys and girls. In this relay race, each pair of partners will row their canoe to the end of the lake and back, where the next pair will be waiting. The first team to have every member row to the edge and back wins."

Duke raised his hand. Ann hesitated, but pointed at him to ask his question anyway. "What's the prize for winning?"

"Why, the fun of working together, of course!"

"Oh. Right," Duke drawled with a bored expression.

"Of course, if you don't win, you'll prove that you don't even have the upper-body strength of a girl," Marie added, smiling impishly.

Melvin bared his teeth in a wild grin. "Oh, we're going to win."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Dancing has really built my muscles," Tea countered, winking.

Melvin scoffed, sticking his tongue out. Ryou raised his hand timidly. "What if one of us falls out of the canoe?"

Ann laughed condescendingly. "Oh, Ryou, of all my time working here, no one has ever fallen out of the canoes. Even if you did, you'll all be wearing lifejackets."

Bakura had a strong feeling that his class would be the one to accomplish this feat first.

Everyone lined up behind the canoes, the boys to the left and the girls to the right. Yami and Yugi climbed into the boy's canoe first, with Tea and Mai next to them.

"Get ready to see the awesome power of our teamwork, guys!" Tea boasted to Yami and Yugi.

"That's right, pharaoh, Friendship Bitch and Breastzilla are some pretty serious competition," Melvin taunted.

"Hey, that isn't very friendly!"

"Yeah Melvin, lay off Friendship Bitch and Breastzilla."

"Yami!"

Each person held one oar in their hands. They waited for Ann's signal before they took off. Yami and Yugi surged ahead of Tea and Mai. The girls were splashed with water from Yami and Yugi's oars. "Ah, I'm so wet!" Mai yelled.

Melvin cackled wildly. "That's what she said!"

The boys arrived back at the starting point just as the girls had arrived at the edge of the lake. "Alright! That was super special awesome!" Yugi exclaimed smugly, high-fiving Yami before scrambling out of the canoe. The boys kept their lead, but they did have a few minor setbacks. Seto and Joey both rowed strong, but since they didn't row in rhythm, they spent a few minutes turning in circles.

"Wheeler, wait! Don't row until I do!"

"I'm trying, but you're rowing to slow!"

"Well, if you'd just have a little patience, puppy."

"Who are you calling a puppy!?"

Meanwhile, Melvin nearly flipped the canoe over when he and Ryou took their turn. He couldn't figure out why the canoe spun wildly instead of traveling forward. Frustrated, he paddled with all of his strength while Ryou clung to the side of the canoe for all he was worth.

"Gah, why isn't this working!?"

"Oh dear, I do believe that I'm going to toss my crumpets!"

"Melvin, you and Ryou need to use teamwork! Row at the same time as him," Ann yelled from the sidelines.

Melvin snorted and commented to Ryou, "No offense, Cream Puff, but we're never going to win if we row at your pace. Just give me your oar." Ryou seemed relieved to follow Melvin's request.

"That's cheating! Both of the partners must be touching the oars. If Melvin doesn't let Ryou help, the boys are disqualified," Ann announced.

Melvin groaned. "We don't have time for this!" He wrapped an arm around Ryou and pulled him into his lap. "Ryou, grab the oars and 'help' me." Ryou clung to the tips of the oars while Melvin wrapped his hands around them rowed for all he was worth. Despite the speed with which the canoe now soared, the girls had caught up to the boys in the time of their misfortunes. Bakura and Marik climbed into the canoe barely before the girls had arrived with theirs, ready for the final set of partners. Luckily, Bakura and Marik didn't seem to have any trouble rowing at the same time.

"Man, this is easy! Why did everyone else find this so hard?" Marik commented.

Bakura grinned. "Because they're a lot of bloody idiots. You should know that."

The pair sailed just ahead of the girls, who were a short distance behind. It seemed that the boys would be victorious. Suddenly, a bee flew towards the boys' canoe just as they approached the opposite edge of the lake.

Marik's eyes grew comically wide when the bee buzzed around the canoe. He let out a rather unmanly scream as he scrambled to back away from the bee. The canoe rocked back and forth.

"Marik, it's just an insect!" Bakura hissed.

"You don't understand! Ah!" The bee buzzed closer to his face. He stood carefully, bending his knees so he wouldn't lose his balance. "I'm deathly allergic to bees! My throat will close up and I'll DIE!" The bee surged towards Marik once more. Marik's took an impulsive step back, flipping the canoe over him and sending both he and Bakura into the water. A few seconds later, Bakura exploded from the water and clawed his way to the top of the capsized canoe. Bakura hated swimming under normal circumstances, but being doused in slimy pond scum was even worse. His head whipped around, searching frantically for Marik so he could strangle him. When he didn't see the blonde head of his friend, his rage quickly switched into panic.

"MARIK!" He growled, silently praying for a response. His request was answered when Marik revealed that he was under the canoe by flipping it over, sending Bakura toppling into the water once again.

"Bakura, where are you?!" Bakura burst out of the water a short distance behind Marik. "Oh, there you are, Fluffy." Still quite alarmed, Bakura lunged towards Marik, grabbing him by the collar of his lifejacket and pulling him along while kicking furiously to the shore. Once the water was shallow enough for their feet to touch the ground, Bakura sprinted to the grass and collapsed, relieved to be out of the water. Marik crawled next to Bakura and lay down beside him, panting. Over their heavy breathing, they could hear the girls cheering in the distance.

Marik turned his head to face Bakura, his expression positively pitiful. "…Sorry, Bakura."

Bakura took a few more deep breaths. He glanced at Marik, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Bakura sighed and clapped his hand on Marik's shoulder. "It's OK. I've been through worse."

Marik didn't look convinced. "Geez, I seem to screw everything up, don't I?"

Bakura chuckled lightly. "Well, you certainly keep things entertaining." He looked down at himself. "Ra, we're a real mess." He casually lifted his wrist to his face, sticking out his tongue. However, he froze when he noticed Marik eyeing him, a little disturbed. Not wanting Marik to accuse him of being cat-like again, or reveal that he had a licking fetish, he licked his lips and slid his tongue back into his mouth. "I was just… checking the time. As it turns out, I'm not wearing a watch." He pushed himself to his feet and offered his hand to Marik. "Come on, I think we need another shower." Marik gave him a small smile and let Bakura help him up.

After washing themselves off, Marik and Bakura followed the directions previously given to them by Marie to reach the rock climbing wall. The other boys hadn't been too pleased with Marik and Bakura for costing them the race, but they eventually seemed to forget the matter after immersing themselves in their next activity. By the time that the pair arrived, almost everyone had already climbed the wall at least once.

"Alright boys, this activity is pretty self-explanatory. One of you climbs the wall while the other holds the rope to help keep you from falling. That's about it. Oh, and don't forget to encourage your partner if they're feeling a little anxious," Ann explained.

Marie handed each of them a helmet. "OK, suit up. You two can have your turn after these guys are done." 'These guys' happened to be Melvin climbing the wall and Ryou holding his rope from the ground.

"Jump down, Melvin-kun! Bakura and Marik are here for their turns."

Melvin shook his head furiously. He was perched at the very top of the wall. Apparently, he had scaled the wall so quickly that he had never thought to look down. Now, he looked terrified, clinging to two stones so hard that his knuckles were beginning to turn white.

"What if the rope snaps, or I slip out of my harness when I jump?!"

"You won't, I promise!"

"Hurry up, you mega-ultra-chicken!"

"Marik, you're not helping!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Melvin leaned his head against the wall and shook slightly. Ryou bit his lip, thinking. His face brightened as an idea seemed to dawn on him. "Oh, Melvin, I have a surprise for you!"

Melvin opened an eye. "A surprise?"

"Yes, but you have to come down to get it."

"…Will I like the surprise?"

"I hope so."

Melvin sighed. "Fine, hang on!" He hesitated for a moment before pushing himself from the wall. Bakura and Marik grabbed the rope attached to Ryou's harness before Melvin's weight could send Ryou flying. Melvin's feet hit the dirt with a thump. He and Ryou removed their harnesses and handed them to Bakura and Marik.

Melvin smiled excitedly at Ryou. "Now, what's my surprise?"

Ryou winked and smiled in a manner that could almost be described as sneaky. "Close your eyes."

Melvin obeyed immediately. Bakura and Marik watched amusedly as Ryou stood on his toes and held Melvin's face in his hands, pulling him down for a quick kiss. Melvin's eyes flew open. He stumbled backwards a little after Ryou let go of him. Ryou giggled at Melvin's stunned expression, although he was sporting quite a luminescent blush himself. "Well, uh, I think I'm going to use the bathroom." Ryou skipped off before anyone could say a word.

Melvin stared wide-eyed after Ryou, his hand slowly reaching up to touch his mouth. "He kissed me…" His face broke out in a goofy grin. He pumped his fist in the air. "Oh yeah, I just scored big!" He shouted, not caring who heard.

"Why are you so excited? You two kissed last night," Bakura commented dryly.

"We were just playing a game last night. He chose to give me this kiss."

"Yeah, because he didn't want to have to stand around in a harness all day," Marik added.

Melvin didn't seem affected by his friends' criticisms. "I wonder if Ryou needs any help in the bathroom…" He said this with a wolfish grin before charging in the direction that Ryou had taken.

Marik blinked. Bakura shook his head and sighed. He turned to the immense wall towering before them.

"So… who's going to climb first?"


	6. Card games are always the answer

"This is just not my day…" Marik groaned, pulling another feather out of his hair and discarding it carelessly to the cafeteria floor. He had been finding loose feathers in his hair all throughout lunch.

Bakura hid his bemused smirk by biting into his turkey sandwich. "Goodness, Marik, the way that bird attacked you on the climbing wall, one might've thought that you owed it money."

"It's just that the eggs that I found at the top of the wall were sooo pretty. I didn't think that the bird would mind if I just took one. Selfish bird. Mr. Tweetums was never selfish…" Marik shot a pointed glare at Bakura as he was reminded of what had happened to his prized pet.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, he was just a bird. You're eating one now."

Marik grunted, but he took another bite of his chicken salad. Ann stood in her place and clapped her hands, catching everyone's attention. "Attention, everyone, lunch will be finished in five minutes. Come outside after you've cleaned up."

Soon, the entire class was gathered outside of the cafeteria. Marie explained their next task. "Alright, so we're going to walk aimlessly around in the woods until everyone gets tired and we can come back here. There's no teamwork involved whatsoever, unless you count walking beside your partner, and, I don't know, making sure that the other doesn't pass out during the hike."

Ann scowled. "Why must you belittle every activity I organize?"

"It's my job, beautiful."

Ann and Marie walked in the direction of the boys' cabins, turning towards the hill upon which the forest rested. They approached a narrow path somewhere between the path to the archery range and the cafeteria. The path was so thin that only two people could fit beside each other. The class was so stretched out along the trail that those at the end of the line (namely Marik and Bakura) couldn't see or hear Ann and Marie. However, neither boy seemed to mind being separated from their annoying counselors.

At first, all was quiet as the pair took in the calming scenery. Just as Bakura was beginning to enjoy the peace, however, Marik broke the silence. "Bakuuuraaa."

"What is it, Marik?"

"I have to piss."

"Marik, I told you to go before we left."

"But I didn't have to go then!"

Bakura sighed and face-palmed. "Fine, just make it fast." He began to follow Marik a little ways off the path. Bakura glanced at Yugi and Yami, who had been walking directly in front of them, but the pharaoh and his pet didn't seem to notice their absence. The pair was walking hand in hand, completely absorbed by the other. Bakura turned back around and continued, effectively separating himself from the class. The path had been pretty straightforward up until this point, so Bakura thought that they wouldn't have any trouble catching up later.

Bakura turned around as Marik relieved himself on a tall, thin tree. He faced his blonde friend once again when he heard the closing of a zipper. "Alright, let's get back to the others."

Marik whined. "Hang on, Bakura. I think I got something in my hair." He put a hand to the top of his head, feeling the viscous, sticky liquid stuck to his fingers. "What the frig is this stuff?"

Bakura tilted his head up, looking for the source of what dripped onto Marik. He visibly stiffened when he noticed the beehive hanging in a high branch of the tree that Marik had peed on. Apparently, the hive was weak and cracked, dripping honey from the bottom. Bakura attempted to keep his voice level. "Marik, we need to find the trail now."

Marik followed Bakura's line of vision and froze upon spotting the beehive. For a moment, he stood still, until it seemed that one of the hive's bees took notice of the honey in Marik's hair. Marik jumped when the bee buzzed near his head. He took a large step back, hoping to evade the pest. The bee simply followed Marik, circling around him. He stepped to his left, then to his right, and the bee continued to pursue him.

"Marik, I don't think that doing the cha-cha slide is going to deter your little friend. Maybe if your dancing doesn't scare it away, you could try singing."

Marik began lunging in different directions more quickly. "That isn't funny, Bakura!"

It wasn't long before Marik had resorted to running frantically in circles, waving his arms over his head. Bakura laughed wildly, amused by how ridiculous Marik looked. Marik looked over his shoulder as he ran to glare at Bakura. Unfortunately, while he was distracted, he ran headfirst into the tree that harbored the hive. The weak, flimsy trunk wavered at the impact, and the branch that held the already damaged hive snapped.

The boys didn't hesitate to break into a run as the hive fell to the ground. Hundreds of buzzing monstrosities poured out of the hive, determined to sting the living daylights out of whoever had destroyed their home. The sound of Bakura and Marik's feet pounding against the ground was barely audible over the terrible noise of the bees.

Bakura glanced at Marik. His friend was unusually pale given his dark complexion. His eyes were wide, and sweat visibly poured down his face. Suddenly, his panicked face disappeared from Bakura's view as Marik tripped over a rock planted firmly in the dirt. Bakura skidded to a stop, his breath short. Marik scrambled to his feet and took a step, but he stumbled as he let out a pained cry. He fell to his knees, but he quickly stood and tried to run again. This time, tears streamed down his face as he struggled to move a few steps. With no time to waste, Bakura rushed back to Marik, scooping him up in his arms and charging away from the quickly approaching bees.

Normally, the extra weight would have slowed Bakura down, but the deafening sound of the much closer bees drove him forward faster than before. Petrified, Marik clung to his shirt, burying his face in it. Eventually, Bakura managed to outrun the bees by several yards. His eye caught the hole of a hollow tree. He shoved Marik unceremoniously into the hole headfirst, but there was only enough room for him. Marik poked his head out. "Bakura, what about y-" Marik's voice was muffled as Bakura shoved a fallen, leafy tree branch into the hole to cover Marik.

Bakura smirked slyly. "Why, Marik, I'm going to solve my problem like every Yu-Gi-Oh character does. I'm going to play a children's card game."

Marik's expression relaxed a little as he peeked at Bakura through the leaves. A children's card game could solve nearly any dilemma, so there was nothing to worry about. "Oh, well, in that case, make it quick. It isn't very comfortable in here."

Bakura nodded and took a few steps away from the tree. The bees appeared over the horizon. Bakura raised his hand in an overly dramatic gesture. "Bees, I challenge you to a shadow game!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a bluish fog materialized, covering the general area. The bees paused, buzzing in the air a few feet away from Bakura. Even bees knew that a children's card game was serious business.

Bakura pulled a deck of trading cards from his pocket and shuffled them. Since he didn't have a duel disk at the moment, he pulled five cards from his deck and placed the rest in a neat pile on the ground. He smiled triumphantly as he gazed at his first hand. _"Luckily, I drew the only card that I need to win this duel. Still, it would be much more fun to torture my little victims slowly with my other cards, draw out their torment for as long as I-"_

"Bakura, you'd better not be thinking about making this duel long enough to span more than one episode. Hurry up, my arm is cramping."

Bakura grumbled sullenly, but nevertheless, he played the card that would beat his opponents. "Fine. I activate my trap card, Eradicating Aerosol!" A large can of bug spray materialized, effectively spraying and killing the bees. Their tiny carcasses disappeared with the Shadow Realm fog.

Bakura basked in his victory for a moment before returning to the hollow tree, pulling the branch out of the way and helping to pull Marik out. "Hey, I thought that card belonged to Joey."

"It did. I've been pickpocketing everyone's best cards since we left for camp."

Marik smiled approvingly. "I knew that there was a reason why I kept you around."

Bakura rolled his eyes, but then his expression softened with a hint of concern as he remembered Marik's leg. "How is your foot?"

Marik, who had been standing on one foot after exiting the tree, tentatively placed his opposite foot on the ground, then applied a little pressure. He winced and immediately lifted it off the ground again. "I think I sprained my ankle."

Bakura sighed. "I suppose that we should find something to wrap it up in."

Mark nodded. "Yes, I suppose that you could tear of part of your shirt to use as a bandage."

"What?! Why do I have to rip apart my clothes?"

"My shirt is already cut off at the midriff. You have a lot more fabric to spare. Besides, you'll look better that way. You can show off your abs, even though no abs could ever be quite as gorgeous as mine."

"Fine," Bakura conceded with a groan. He pulled out his pocket knife and used it to rip off a considerable amount of the bottom half of his shirt. Bakura had never cared much about his clothes anyway, but he knew that Ryou was going to throw a fit when he saw that his former yami had ruined yet another shirt. "_Oh well, at least my shirt isn't covered in blood this time."_

Bakura helped Marik to sit down and held Marik's foot in his hand. He loosened the laces of the tennis shoes that Marik had bought specifically for the field trip and pulled the shoe off. Marik released a pained cry and kicked Bakura in the forehead with his uninjured foot. Bakura growled and faltered backwards. "Oh my Ra, I'm so sorry! Are you OK, Kura?"

Bakura narrowed his eyes and glared at Marik as he sat up, but his annoyance weakened under Marik's innocent stare. He reasoned that this must be Karma for laughing at Marik before. "I'm fine. I guess now we'll have matching bruises, hm?"

Marik looked puzzled before he raised his hand to his forehead. He pressed his thumb around and felt the soreness of the bruise from his earlier collision with the tree. "Oh, right," he said simply.

Bakura grabbed Marik's foot gingerly. "Please, hold still, honey."

Marik started in spite of himself before glaring at Bakura. "Don't call me Honey."

Bakura didn't answer, wrapping Marik's foot tightly in his shirt fabric. Marik winced, but he managed to avoid kicking Bakura again. Bakura looked up at Marik, letting the slightest smirk show. "What's the matter, Honey? Now I have a cute pet name for you."

"I don't want to be referred to by something that I hate. Honey is produced inside those nasty little vermin."

"Well, I don't like cats, so I guess we're even."

"I still refuse to answer to Honey."

Bakura wrapped the last bit of fabric around Marik's leg, tucking it into place. His grin grew wider as he took Marik's hand to help him up. "Why not? You've called me honey before."

"That's different."

"What should I call you then? How about Marik-kins? Or Neko-Chan? Or Sugar Lips?" Despite Bakura's feeling of nausea as the words left his mouth, it was worth it to see Marik's mortified expression.

"On second thought, Honey is fine."

"That's what I thought. Now, come on, we need to find the class. We can go back to the camp and put some ice on that."

"Ice?!" Marik beamed ecstatically and tried to take a step forward before Bakura caught him.

"Marik? Your ankle?"

"Oh, yeah," Marik said sheepishly. Bakura pulled one of Marik's arms around his shoulder to help support his weight. He started pulling Marik along.

"Wait, you're going the wrong way."

"What are you talking about?"

"We ran from the opposite direction."

"No, we didn't."

"Yes, we did. I recognize that tree."

"All of the trees look the same!"

"In that case, how do you know where we're going?"

Bakura paused to think that over. Then, he hung his head in defeat. "_This might take a while."_


	7. A Night Outside

"Bakuuuraaa, how much longer will it be until we find the trail?"

Bakura sighed. "I don't know, Marik." Bakura had initially been walking with Marik supported on his shoulder, but after a few hours of hopping on one foot, Marik had somehow convinced Bakura to let him ride on his shoulders. There had been no sign of the path, only trees. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with vivid hues of red and orange. "Well, can we at least take a break? I'm tired."

"Oh, you're tired. Well, by all means, you deserve a rest," Bakura grumbled. He stopped and squatted down, allowing Marik to climb off his back and sit before Bakura sat down himself. They both leaned against a nearby tree. Marik yawned and closed his eyes sleepily.

"Marik… I get the feeling that we're not going to find the class before nightfall."

Marik's eyes shot open. "What?! We have to, Bakura. We can't stay outside all night."

"Last time I checked, that's the definition of camping."

"Ok, fine, but where are we going to sleep? What if we freeze to death?"

"Why, we're going to sleep on the luxury beds offered at the hotel run by fairies."

"Really?"

"No."

"…Oh."

"As for freezing to death," Bakura continued, standing and stretching his arms over his head, "It would be in our best interest to build a fire. You stay here while I go collect wood."

"No, wait, let me come with you!" Marik retorted, pushing himself to stand on one foot with the help of the tree.

"Why are you so eager to be helpful all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's certainly not because I'm scared to be alone in the wilderness, if that's what you're implying!"

Bakura chuckled and let Marik wrap an arm around his shoulder. "Alright, you big baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Whatever you say, Honey."

Marik growled, but he allowed Bakura to lead him into a thick concentration of trees. Marik managed to find a large branch to use as a crutch so he could hobble around without Bakura's help. They both stayed within a small area, throwing branches into a pile.

As Bakura leaned down to pluck one particular branch from a pile of leaves, he was startled to find that it moved. The 'branch' wriggled around, turning to face Bakura with beady eyes and a flicking tongue. Bakura cautiously took a step back.

"OH MY RA BAKURA, WATCH OUT!"

Bakura jumped, surprised by Marik's sudden outburst. Scared by Bakura's sudden movement, the snake lunged for his leg and sunk its fangs through his pants into his lower leg. Bakura hissed and grabbed the snake, ripping it from his leg and flinging it far away into the trees.

Marik was at Bakura's side in an instant, hurling himself at Bakura's feet. "Marik, what the bloody hell are you doing?!"

Marik glanced up at Bakura as he rolled Bakura's pant leg up, clearly panicked. "Don't worry, I'll suck the poison out."

"No, Marik, it wasn't-"

Bakura was cut off when Marik snatched his leg and latched his mouth around the bite, sucking hard. Bakura let out a low groan, in spite of himself, as he felt Marik's warm, moist mouth on his leg. Marik sucked for a few moments, spat, then latched onto the wound again.

"Marik…" Bakura bit his lip, stopping another moan as well as trying to resist the urge to thrust at Marik. "Marik, that was a corn snake. It isn't- AH!- It isn't venomous."

Marik spat again. "Better safe than sorry, Kura." Apparently, Marik had come to be suspicious of any snake after countless attacks from his father's snake, Cornelius. When Marik seemed convinced that there were no more traces of 'poison,' Marik pulled Bakura's pants back down. He used the stick that he had dropped to the side to push himself to his feet again and casually shuffled to the large pile of wood. "Well, come on, Fluffy. The fire isn't going to light itself."

Bakura shook his head, trying to get over his shock, before joining Marik. He pulled out his pocket knife and held it in the sun's fading rays, reflecting the light onto the wood. Slowly, smoke began to rise from the pile before a small spark ignited, and a tiny fire dancing on the wood. Bakura kneeled and blew on the flame, letting it grow larger. After Marik threw some dead leaves on the pile according to Bakura's instruction, they had a modest fire burning. The two partners sat down by it, admiring their handiwork. Of course, with Marik around, the comforting silence other than the crackling of the fire ended quickly. A loud gurgle resounded from the pit of Marik's gut.

Bakura turned to Marik, smiling amusedly at the light blush dusting Marik's cheeks, clearly visible in the light of the fire. "What was that noise, Marik?"

Marik groaned. "What do you think, Kura? We haven't eaten since lunch."

"I'll take care of that." Bakura looked up into the trees, squinting to see with the limited amount of daylight. He twirled his pocket knife in one hand absentmindedly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and with the same accuracy that he had employed when they had been shooting arrows, he pitched his knife high into a tree. Once again, a small object fell from among the branches. Bakura stood to retrieve his kill, which turned out to be a squirrel.

Marik wrinkled his nose as Bakura pulled the knife from the squirrel's chest and instead impaled it with a stick. "You aren't really going to eat that vermin, are you?"

Bakura shrugged as he held his squirrel out over the fire. "Why not? At least I'm cooking it. Want one?"

Marik shook his head, looking away from the gruesome image of the squirrel burning. Once Bakura believed his squirrel to be fully roasted, his turned his back to Marik so he could eat it without disgusting him. Predictably, the tiny creature had little meat to offer, but it was enough to satisfy Bakura for the time.

"How's your squirrel?" Marik asked, still refusing to watch the savage display.

"There isn't much to eat, but the flavor isn't bad." Having finished his meager meal, he tossed the carcass carelessly over his shoulder.

"Have you ever eaten a squirrel before?"

"Actually, one time, I-"

Marik whipped his head around and stared at Bakura with horror. "Oh frig, you totally have eaten squirrels before haven't you?! You could have told me that before I kissed you! I could get rabies or something!"

"Squirrels don't carry rabies."

"Well, I could catch whatever other diseases those rodents carry."

Bakura rolled his eyes once again before scooting to sit closer to Marik. "I can assure you that I don't carry any diseases Marik. Well, maybe a mental disease, but no diseases that you could catch from just a kiss."

"Speaking of kissing…"

"Ugh, what is it, Marik?"

"Are you disappointed that you didn't get to kiss Yami while we were playing Spin the Bottle?"

Bakura blinked, his expression blank. He stared into Marik's eyes, watching the flames dance in his glowing orbs, trying to find a sense of jest. However, Marik just stared back at him, his face serious.

"Marik, what the devil do you mean?"

Marik huffed, facing the fire. "Oh, come on, Bakura. I know that you have a crush on Yami. It all makes sense. His melodious solo when we randomly decided to sing _Come Sail Away,_ his tight, leather pants that you wanted to get into so badly, and, frig, he even has the purple eyes. Face it, Bakura, you've been a closet darkshipper this whole time."

Bakura was silent for several seconds before he threw his head back in a round of psychotic laughter. Marik glared at him. "I'm serious, Bakura! You don't have to feel embarrassed. It's OK to admit that you like him."

Bakura chuckled quietly, still trying to regain control. "Marik, I swear, by Slifer The Executive Producer, that I don't 'like' the pharaoh, in any sense of the word."

"Are you sure? There's no need to lie about it."

"I'm telling the truth this time, Marik."

Marik gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Ra! For a second there, I thought that I would have to kill you to put you out of your misery or something."

"Well, we certainly can't have that."

Marik leaned back casually, supporting his weight on his hands. "So, who do you really like?"

"Marik…"

"Is it Yugi? His voice isn't nearly as pleasant as Yami's, but he still has the purple eyes."

"No."

"It couldn't be Melvin, could it? Bakura, I know that he's nearly as attractive as me, and therefore quite hard to resist, but it's clear that he likes your hikari."

Bakura closed his eyes and rubbed his fingertips on his temple, trying to relieve his growing headache. "Marik, I already told you that it isn't anyone you know."

Marik stuck out his bottom lip in a cute pout, but he conceded. "Alright, but you've got to introduce me to this crush of yours sometime. I'd love to meet him."

"Oh, I'm sure you would," Bakura said simply. In the midst of their conversation, the pair had failed to notice the sky growing dark, and not just from the setting of the sun. A drop of water suddenly slid down Bakura's nose.

"Oh, Bugger," Bakura growled. The trees would not provide sufficient cover for their fire. Soon, they would be left without a source of light or heat.

"Oh frig, is it raining?" Marik asked, peering up at the starless night sky.

"No duh, you wanker, why else would we be getting wet?"

"Well, there's no need to be snappy. What are we going to do?"

Bakura turned his head, scanning his surroundings. "Well, if we backed up a little bit, those trees might be able to provide partial cover for us. I don't think there's enough room to save part of the fire, though."

Bakura walked while Marik scooted backwards on his bottom to a cluster of trees a few feet away. They both leaned back against a particularly large trunk. A few stray raindrops passed through the leaves and landed on the pair. Luckily, it was a gentle rain, not a storm.

Marik shivered, pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his chin on his knees. Bakura noticed Marik's discomfort and pulled his long coat off, draping it over both of their heads. "My coat isn't waterproof, but it is water resistant."

Marik smiled appreciatively at Bakura before turning his eyes back to the fire. They dozed in and out of consciousness, watching the dying fire and listening to the quiet rain. At one point, Marik's head lolled onto Bakura's shoulder, but he quickly woke and shot his head back up. Bakura ignored the gesture, too sleepy to respond.

"Bakura…"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we'll ever find the class?"

"Yes, Marik, we'll find the class eventually." Marik shifted closer to Bakura, yawning.

"Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"What if we get eaten by some forest creature?"

"We won't get eaten. I'll challenge anything that threatens us to a shadow game." This time, Bakura yawned. Marik leaned his head onto Bakura's shoulder again.

"Bakura?"

"What, Marik?"

"You don't think I'm getting fat, do you?"

"No, honey. Now please, go to sleep." He subconsciously wrapped an arm around Marik's waist, pulling him closer. Marik nuzzled into his neck, smiling.

"Night, Fluffy."

This was the last thing Bakura remembered hearing before he drifted into sleep. He woke up the next morning with the sun in his face once again. His body felt sore from sleeping on the hard ground all night. He made an effort to sit up before he noticed an unfamiliar weight on his body. Bakura turned his head to find the sleeping face of Marik, his head resting in the crook of Bakura's neck and his arm draped over Bakura's chest. Bakura smiled serenely, happy that Marik's drowsiness had apparently caused him to forget that sleeping with another man could be considered gay. Bakura stretched his arms (one of which was under Marik) and legs. It wasn't until he took a deep breath of morning air that he noticed something unusual. He wrinkled his nose, wondering what could cause the air to smell so foul. Taking another sniff, he suddenly tensed, as he recognized the pungent odor. Without moving, he let his eyes dart quickly about, before they landed on a furry creature a few feet away from Marik and himself. Inspecting the squirrel carcass that Bakura had so nonchalantly discarded was a skunk.


	8. Love Stinks

"Marik, wake up!" Bakura whispered urgently, moving his arm out from under Marik. Marik's eyes fluttered open. He smiled sweetly and Bakura and yawned. Before he could say anything, however, Bakura gently placed a hand over Marik's mouth. Marik stared up at Bakura, sudden concern evident in his eyes. Bakura silently nodded his head toward the skunk. Marik looked in the indicated direction. The skunk sniffed curiously at the dead squirrel, prodding the squirrel's head with its nose. Marik's eyes widened before he turned back to Bakura. He took Bakura's hand away from his mouth to reveal a bright smile.

"Oh my Ra, it's so cute!" Marik whispered, grinning. "Don't worry, I won't scare it away."

"Cute!?" Bakura hissed, "Marik, we need to get away from that thing!"

Marik raised an eyebrow, confused. "Why? It isn't bothering us."

"It will do a lot more than bother us if we don't get out of sight. Come on, trust me on this."

Quietly, with all of the sneakiness of a thief, Bakura scooped Marik up and bounded behind the cover of a cluster of nearby bushes. They were hidden before the skunk could look up.

"Bakura, what the frig is wrong with you?!" Marik asked softly, still appearing to be genuinely puzzled.

"Marik, are you not aware of what kind of animal that is?!"

Marik wrinkled his forehead, thinking. "Wait, wait, I know this one. Um…"

Unlike Marik, Bakura knew the characteristic traits of a skunk well. Prior to receiving his own body, Bakura had indirectly experienced the wrath of such a creature. Ryou was being picked on in the park by a group of boys, who shoved him into a bush where a skunk happened to have made its home. The smell probably would've been enough to drive the boys away on its own, but Bakura had been in the mood to play. Although Bakura had taught the boys a lesson about what happened when they messed with Ryou, it only took one whiff of his host's body for him to return to his place in the ring. In retrospect, he had probably been a little cruel in taunting and teasing Ryou through their mind link for his new aroma while Ryou had to sit miserably in a tub of tomato juice for at least an hour before being completely rid of the atrocious smell.

"Right, well, here's a brief biology lesson from someone who hasn't spent most of his life underground. That-" Bakura pointed to the creature in question, "Is called a skunk. Skunks are nocturnal, omnivorous, and, oh, yes, they're also capable of manufacturing one of the most unpleasant odors known to mankind."

Marik sniffed the air. "Oh, is that what that funny smell is? It smells like coffee, although it is a little strong. Is that really all you're afraid of? A fluffy cat with a little body odor?"

"You don't understand, Marik. Skunks are also capable of inflicting their scent upon anyone that startles them. They can spray a fluid from their rear ends that's much stronger than what we smell now."

Marik tilted his head. "So… if I happened to scare that skunk, it would pee on me?"

"What? No, no, it isn't piss that it sprays."

"So it orgasms at people?"

Bakura shook his head, now a little red in the face. "No, the spray is not urine or semen! It's, well, it's… I don't know what it is, but it isn't either of those!"

"Well, gee Bakura, there are only so many fluids that can come out of one's rear end."

"My point is that we need to get away from here. Now."

Marik looked back at the skunk, which was still very interested in the squirrel. "I still don't see what the big deal is, Bakura. It looks harmless." Marik pushed himself up, standing on one foot shakily.

"Marik, what are you doing?!"

Marik smiled and patted Bakura's head condescendingly. "Relax, Fluffy. You clearly have an irrational fear of this animal, so I'm going to show you that you have nothing to be afraid of."

Before Bakura could stop him, Marik hopped out from behind the bush. The skunk's head whipped up to face Marik, its body tense. Staying a few feet away, Marik cautiously sat down, staring intently at the skunk. Then, he began tapping the ground in front of him with his fingers. "Hey there, pretty fella. You wanna come here? Huh? You wanna come?" The skunk didn't move.

Marik smiled reassuringly, still patting the ground gently. "Come on, fella. I'm not going to hurt you. Come here, please? Will you?" The skunk took a step, hesitating. Then, all at once, the skunk trotted towards Marik. Marik looked a little taken aback, but he continued speaking soft words of encouragement. Slowly, he moved a hand toward the skunk and lifted it, palm up, inviting the skunk to smell him. To his and Bakura's surprise, the skunk rubbed its head against his hand, as if inviting him to pet it. Uncertainly, Marik stroked the skunk's head. The skunk seemed to approve, as it began walking back and forth, allowing Marik's hand to run over its back as it passed.

Bakura, who had been watching everything leading up to this scene with grim anticipation, now dropped his jaw in shock. "Marik," Bakura said, trying to project his voice from behind the bush without yelling, "I can assure you that behavior is not ordinary for a skunk. There must be something wrong with it. It might have rabies!"

"No kidding," Marik mumbled, a little stunned himself by this supposedly wild animal's tame nature. The skunk rolled over onto its back, requesting a belly rub. Marik smirked at Bakura as he rubbed the creature's soft tummy. "You're right, Bakura. Skunks are terrifying."

Bakura blushed. "Oh, shut up. That's not a normal skunk. Even you can see that!"

Marik shrugged and returned his focus to his new little friend. Less than a minute later, Bakura saw the bushes behind Marik move. He stared silently at the shrubs until he saw a furry head poke out. Bakura started, then squinted his eyes to get a better look at the creature. It was small, and its coat was perfectly white. At first, Bakura thought that it might be an albino squirrel. However, he felt his stomach drop when the animal crawled quietly out of the bush, revealing its short, squat, cat-like form and long, furry tail. The creature in question stared at Marik, its red eyes narrowed, as Marik scratched the skunk gently and cooed affectionately. It bared its teeth, hissing threateningly. Marik turned his head and gasped at the sudden appearance of this hostile creature. Bakura grabbed Marik's walking stick and sprinted to Marik's rescue, just as the animal charged at Marik. Bakura blocked Marik from its bite with the stick. When it sunk its teeth into the stick, Bakura swung the stick around to shake it off, sending it flying into the underbrush.

"What the frig was that thing, Bakura?!" Marik yelped, still sitting on the ground, his expression alarmed and the skunk sitting by his side.

"That, Marik, was an albino skunk."

Suddenly, the same albino skunk burst out of the bushes into which it had been slung. Bakura raised the stick and approached the skunk, determined to keep it away from Marik. Unfortunately, while Bakura had surprised the albino before, it was now well prepared to use its special weapon. The skunk had thumped its front legs once, whipped around, and shoved its backside into the air before Bakura could even skid to a stop. He only had time to turn his head so the spray wouldn't get in his face or burn his eyes. Predictably, Bakura was covered from head to toe in the stench, and at such a close range, the smell was almost unbearably strong. Bakura stumbled away gagging and gasping for air.

Marik stared at the display, unblinking. The skunk who had been resting next to Marik gave his hand a lick before waddling over to the albino. Marik's skunk gave the albino a quick lick on the nose before they shuffled away together without looking back.

Marik came back to reality when he heard Bakura choking. He jumped up and stumbled to his friend. "Oh my Ra, Bakura, are you OK?!"

Bakura punched his own chest and sniffed, grimacing. "Just fan-fucking-tastic, Marik."

Marik gave a sigh of relief, but it turned into a cough as the full force of Bakura's scent hit him. He staggered backwards and pinched his nose. His voice sounded like Serenity as he spoke. "YUCK! Oh man, I didn't know it would smell that bad! That's _really_ strong."

"Did you think that I, of all people, would be one to worry about something trivial?"

"No, OK, I admit it, you were right. Frig, you really stink, Bakura. Great, now I'm going to have to wander around the forest with that smell following me."

Bakura growled. "You realize that I could have just let that skunk attack you, right?"

Marik blinked, then his face seemed to light up in realization. He smiled kindly. "I know. Thank you, Kura. That was very sweet of you."

Bakura blushed and looked at his feet. "Whatever, don't mention it."

Marik giggled and leaned down to retrieve his walking stick. "Come on, Stinky. We still need to find our way back to camp."

Bakura held in a groan. He had a feeling that 'Stinky' was going to be Marik's nickname of choice for him for a while. Still, he followed Marik in his trek in a random direction. Marik asked him to stay a few paces behind him so he would be able to breathe. Bakura begrudgingly obeyed, already missing the closeness with Marik that he had become accustomed to this week.

"By the way," Marik asked, after a few minutes of hiking through foliage, "Why do think that albino skunk was trying to kill me?"

"My guess is that the skunk you were cuddling with was its mate. However, I still have no idea why that skunk was so social."

Marik nodded, then turned his head. Bakura thought that he saw Marik smile.

"What? What's so funny?"

Marik looked back at Bakura, trying not to snicker. "I was just thinking, that albino skunk reminded me of you."

"What?!" Bakura growled, "We're nothing alike."

"Sure you are, Bakura. Both of you are fluffy, aggressive, and _very_ protective of your crushes."

"I'm_ not_ like a skunk. Alright, maybe I do have a little more hair than the average person, and maybe I have a hobby of torturing people, and maybe… Wait, did you say _crush_?"

Marik stopped and turned around to fully face Bakura. Now, he wasn't even trying to hide his devious smirk.

"W-What are you talking about, Marik?" Bakura stuttered, in spite of himself.

"Oh, nothing," Marik drawled, fiddling with a leaf on a nearby bush. "I just happened to think of someone with a lovely singing voice, clothes that flaunt his attractive body, and eyes that I've caught you staring into before."

Bakura gulped, the back of his neck beginning to grow warm. "How… how long have you known?"

"Since just now, when I realized that a smelly jerk like you wouldn't risk any form of inconvenience for just anybody."

Bakura decided to ignore the 'smelly jerk' comment and asked the more pressing question, "So… what does that mean for us, Marik?"

Marik smiled sympathetically at him. "Bakura, I've already told you that I'm not gay, but you-"

Bakura was running before Marik could finish. Bakura ignored Marik's cries for him to come back. He fled faster as he heard the clop of Marik's stick against the hard ground behind him. He didn't want to hear the end of Marik's statement. Whether it was, "But you and I should just stay friends," or "But you and I should probably stop seeing each other," Bakura couldn't face rejection. He cursed himself for being foolish enough to serve someone who was only humoring his little crush. The sound of Marik yelling and the pounding of his uneven steps faded gradually as Bakura continued to run at top speed. Soon, they were completely separated from each other.


	9. Just Dance

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Just Dance **_**by Lady Gaga.**

Bakura stopped running when he felt certain that Marik was too far away to find him. He leaned his arm against a tree, trying to steady his breathing.

"_What have I done?"_ He thought miserably. Marik had discovered Bakura's feelings for him, and he was on the brink of rejecting Bakura before Bakura had fled. He knew that running away had only made the situation worse. By avoiding confrontation, Bakura had only revealed how serious his affections were and how sensitive and _weak_ he was. He realized with a sinking feeling that he would eventually have to go back and find Marik. He couldn't leave Marik alone and practically crippled in the woods for long, no matter how embarrassed he was.

Bakura leaned against the tree and slumped into a sitting position. He decided to wait until he had calmed down a little before going off to find Marik. It wasn't long before he heard rustling in the bushes a few yards away from him. He stood quickly, his hands curling into fists. Silently, he prayed that it wouldn't be Marik. Anything except Marik. He would gladly fend off another swarm of bees, a venomous serpent, even take another dose of stank from a skunk, just so long as he didn't have to face Marik yet.

Unfortunately, Bakura's wish was granted. Lumbering towards Bakura was an adult grizzly bear.

"_Man, Karma is a real bitch."_

The grizzly stopped upon noticing Bakura and stared at him, inquisitively. Bakura maintained eye contact with the bear as he pulled out his pocket knife. Upon seeing the sun reflect off the blade, the bear attacked. It roared and charged Bakura. Bakura jumped out of the path of the raging bear with finesse and raised his arm to drive the blade into its skull. However, it swiped a great paw into the air and knocked the knife from Bakura's hand, sending it flying far out of reach.

"…_Oh, bugger."_

The bear used its paw to smack Bakura to the ground before standing over him. Bakura stared up at the bear, panting, sweat pouring down his face. It leaned down and pushed its muzzle firmly into Bakura's chest. Bakura flinched, expecting the bear to start tearing into his flesh. However, the grizzly only made snorting noises as it nuzzled him. Bakura realized that the bear was smelling him. The bear raised its head and looked at Bakura questioningly, perhaps contemplating the identity of this creature with the same luxurious fur, burning eyes, and unpleasant smell of a skunk that the bear somehow knew wasn't a skunk. However, the bear seemed to stop caring about this possibility as it opened its gaping maw. Bakura squeezed his eyes shut and let out an uncharacteristic whimper.

"JUST DANCE, GONNA BE OK, DA-DOO-DOO-DOOM, JUST DANCE, SPIN THAT RECORD BABE!"

Bakura's jaw dropped as he heard a familiar screechy voice. He angled his head to look behind him. Marik was hopping on his good foot, spinning in circles, and waving his arms in the air a few feet away, singing one of his favorite songs at the top of his lungs.

"JUST DANCE, GONNA BE OK, D-D-D-DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, JUST, J-J-JUST DANCE!"

The bear stared at Marik, its body tense. Then, it glanced down at Bakura. Finally, the bear seemed to decide that eating a skunk probably wouldn't be very pleasant anyway, especially with a creature that screeched like a squirrel having a rabies-induced mental breakdown nearby. It climbed off of Bakura and trotted away from the pair.

Once the bear was out of sight, Marik stopped singing and collapsed, exhausted.

"Marik!" Bakura rushed to Marik's side. Marik waved him off and said in between pants, "I'm OK, Bakura. Are you alright?"

Bakura glanced down at himself. "Just a few bruises on my arms. I'm fine." Bakura smiled, grateful to be alive for once. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see you."

Marik smiled back. "I'm glad to see you too." Then, his expression became concerned. "Bakura, why did you run away from me?"

Bakura stiffened, then sighed under Marik's coaxing stare. "Listen, Marik, I know that you just want to be friends or something, but-"

"Whoever said anything about wanting to stay friends?"

Bakura's heart sank. He looked away, his fists trembling. "Alright, so maybe you'd rather I just left you alone."

"Guess again, Kitty."

Bakura looked up just in time for Marik to kiss the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes. Marik turned away quickly and gasped, as though he had been holding his breath.

"M-Marik?!" Bakura felt his face burn. He waited expectantly while Marik caught his breath. Then, Marik turned back to him, smiling brightly.

"Bakura, you didn't let me finish before. I'm not gay… but you might be my exception."*

"Are… Are you saying what I think you're saying, Marik?"

Marik nodded shyly. He looked into Bakura's eyes, beaming. "Uh-huh. I think you're cute, Fluffy."

Bakura's blush grew brighter. "And did it never occur to you to tell me until now?"

Marik looked down, twiddling his thumbs. "Well, no, I mean, it never occurred to me that you might like me too."

"My incessant flirting and innuendos weren't enough to convince you?"

Marik raised his hands defensively. "What, I thought you were just kidding! How was I supposed to know you were serious?"

Bakura smirked slightly. "Also, are you positive that your attraction towards another man couldn't possibly be the result of your sexual orientation, not just an 'exception'?"

"Yes, I'm sure! I mean, well, I…" Marik groaned and threw his head back dramatically. "Look, I swear that I've never been attracted to another man before! You're just… I don't know. I just like you… because you're you. I don't like you because you're male. I would like you if you told me that you were a girl."

Bakura managed to hide a goofy smile with a teasing smirk. "Don't worry, I would accept you if you were a girl too. I doubt that I would even notice the difference."

Marik rolled his eyes and folded his arms, sporting a smirk that could have rivaled Bakura's. "Well, that's certainly some big talk for someone who ran away crying when he thought his crush didn't like him."

Bakura looked taken aback by Marik's harsh comeback, but his expression quickly became devious. "I never cried, but it won't take me long to have you crying out." He smirked suggestively and began crawling towards Marik.

Marik's eyes widened. He smiled nervously. "Ah, Bakura, what are you doing?"

Bakura grinned wider as Marik scrambled to back away from him. "I just thought that my sweet little Marik would like some loving."

"Bakura, I'm not making out with you when you smell like that! You'll rub your skunk juice off on me."

"Why not?" Bakura said softly, his smile positively wicked. "Smelling like a skunk isn't that bad, Marik. Besides, you could take a bath with me once we get back to camp."

Marik squeaked as his back hit a tree. Bakura leaned over him with one arm on each side of Marik's head, still not quite touching him. Marik stared up at Bakura, trying his best to scowl, but obviously a little hesitant, since he definitely wasn't opposed to having fun with Bakura, if only his smell didn't make him want to vomit.

Bakura smirked smugly, knowing that he had Marik right where he wanted him. "Now, let's-"

"Hey, there they are!"

Bakura's eye twitched as he slowly turned to the source of the voice. Just as he had feared, Yugi was rushing towards them with Yami not far behind. Bakura growled in aggravation and dropped his head in defeat. Marik gave a sigh of relief and smiled as Bakura climbed off him.

"I knew we'd be the first to find them. We'd better let the rest of the class know," Yami said proudly, happy to advertise any success that he could.

When Yugi was about a yard away from them, he stopped short. He stuck out his tongue and pulled his shirt over his face. "I guess we know who's responsible for that funny smell that's been lingering ever since we set out this morning."

"_I'm_ not responsible for that, you twat! It was that damn skunk."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Wow, we leave you two in the woods for one night and you come back covered in bruises, smelling like road kill, and trying to kill each other."

Marik tilted his head. "Trying to kill each other?"

"Well, yeah," Yugi added, his voice muffled, "Bakura had you pinned against a tree five seconds ago."

"Pinned against- Oh, right, of course. Yeah, we've been driving each other insane ever since we got lost. Thank goodness you saved me from this madman!"

Bakura swore that his eyes were going to fall out of his head if he rolled them any more today.

Yugi and Yami lead Bakura and Marik back to the path, which, conveniently, was only just out of sight of their previous location. While Yami and Yugi ventured out to find the others, who had been instructed to search close to the trail, Bakura and Marik followed the path back to the campsite. Ann didn't seem at all pleased when she saw the boys, but her annoyance quickly melted into relief as she said that they could talk about it later. Marie was sent to the cafeteria to fetch a few cans of tomato juice which they had on hand for what was apparently a common occurrence.

Currently, while the rest of the class was in the Arts and Crafts shack, Bakura sat in a small metal washtub just outside his cabin, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and covered in red juice. The washtub was so small that he had to pull his knees up to his chin to fit. His scowl resembled the grumpy expression of a wet cat. As if putting him on display wasn't embarrassing enough, Ryou had been selected by Marie to give his 'brother' a bath and treat any of his wounds.

Bakura probably would've noticed that Ryou's appearance was a bit comical if he wasn't so busy feeling bad for himself. Ryou's hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and he wore a pair of swimming goggles (so his eyes wouldn't water), a clothespin over his nose, and an old pair of rubber gloves. Despite this seemingly unpleasant chore, an amused smile graced Ryou's features.

"Close your eyes, Kura."

Bakura obeyed, sighing as yet another cup of cold liquid was poured over his head. Ryou scrubbed his head a bit roughly with the gloves, making certain that none of the oily spray would remain.

Bakura kept his gaze off Ryou. "I know you're holding it in, Ryou. Go ahead, laugh."

Ryou scrubbed a little more gently. "Why would I laugh at you?"

"Why not? Everything else seems to working against me this week. Besides, I'm sure that you find the irony of our situation to be at least a bit amusing."

Ryou removed his hands from Bakura's head in favor of rubbing his back, seemingly taking pity on him in consideration of his emo mood. "I think that you've been through enough today, Kura," Ryou said in a patronizing, motherly way.

Bakura leaned forward, giving Ryou more access. "Thank you, yadonushi."

"Any time, _Stinky._"

Ryou's last statement was barely above a whisper, and he turned and ran across the grassy field the moment the words had left his mouth. Bakura sprang out of the washtub not a moment later, only to trip over the rim, flipping the tub as he landed flat on his face. The sound of Ryou's giggles pushed him to scramble to his feet and chase Ryou. Luckily, Marik and Melvin happened to arrive on the scene just in time Ryou to hide behind them.

Melvin glared at Bakura as he stomped up to them. "You'd better not be trying to hurt _my _little Ryou-kun, Bakura."

"Out of my way, Melvin. I need to kill my hikari."

Meanwhile, both Ryou and Marik were laughing hysterically. Ryou pulled off the clothespin so he could breathe. Between laughs, Ryou managed to say, "I blame Marik! He dared me to call you that."

Bakura's eyes narrowed as Marik tried to suppress his snickers. Bakura observed that Marik's wounds had been patched up courtesy of Melvin, although Melvin's handiwork was a little haphazard compared to Ryou's work on him. Bakura was ready to leave some fresh wounds on Marik, in more ways than one.

Marik smiled teasingly at Bakura. "Don't be so upset, Kitty. Say, Ryou, are you done bathing him yet?"

"You tell me," Ryou said, obviously wary of getting too close to Bakura. Marik approached Bakura, leaning forward and taking a whiff. He wrinkled his nose and stood straight.

"Still skunky?"

"No, now you just smell like an old pizza.** Go take a real shower, Bakura."

"Would you care to join me for said shower?"

Marik rolled his eyes, still grinning. "You'd better make that a cold shower, Fluffy."

***Author's Note: Sorry if Marik's line seemed cheesy and predictable. Some of you (randomgirl40) probably guessed that response. But, hey, what was I supposed to do? Make the bear eat Bakura? My laptop isn't exactly waterproof, so I can't afford to flood it with the tears I would shed from even typing such a thing. Besides, I'll bet you didn't guess that bears have a fear of off-key Lady Gaga covers. ;) **

****I technically borrowed this joke from _Martha Speaks, _so, Disclaimer: I do not own _Martha Speaks._ **


	10. The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

Bakura felt disgruntled as he washed himself for what felt like his hundredth shower in the dirty, scummy shower of Cabin 1. Although Bakura had not intended to take Marik's advice literally, the water was much colder than what he was accustomed to. The freezing water did nothing to soothe his aching muscles from sleeping on the ground, nor his frustration. Frankly, Bakura was sick of being cock-blocked. Granted, the more rational part of Bakura's brain knew that he had smelled like garbage during his first attempt to hit on Marik and covered in tomato juice for his second, but he couldn't help feeling the slightest hint of hurt.

Bakura pushed his troubled thoughts to the back of his mind. After rinsing his body of soapy residue for the fifth time, he lifted his arm and sniffed the underside. He smiled in relief when he could not distinguish the scent of either tomato or skunk. Turning the faucet, he climbed out of the shower and grabbed the towel hanging on the wall. Bakura smacked his lips as he wrapped the towel around his waist. The rotten taste in his mouth reminded him of his rather unorthodox dining experience in the woods. He brushed his teeth with a liberal amount of toothpaste and gargled some minty mouthwash for good measure. Looking around the small washroom, he realized that he had forgotten to grab a change of clothes on his way in. He met a surprise as he entered the sleeping room of the cabin.

"Oh, hey Bakura!" Marik chirped as he lay on his stomach in his bottom bunk, reading what looked suspiciously like Yaoi.

"Hello, Marik," Bakura droned dully. He began rummaging around in his bag that lay near his and Marik's shared bunk bed, not bothering to come on to Marik this time. "Where are Ryou and Melvin?"

"I think Melvin said something about having an ice cream from the cafeteria 'on' Ryou. I guess he's making Ryou pay for it or something."

Bakura shook his head. "I'm must have a serious talk with your yami, before he gets my hikari pregnant." He pulled out a pair of velvety gray sweatpants. Marik shoved his comic book under his pillow and rolled over, averting his eyes while Bakura dressed. The cabin's lack of air conditioning made the room so hot and humid that Bakura opted to go without a shirt.

"Going commando today, Bakura?" Marik asked, still facing the wall.

"I usually do, Marik." Bakura slid the pants on.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Bakura ignored the flirtatious tone in Marik's voice. "You know, I should probably go check on my yadonushi."

"Wait, don't go."

"…Why?"

Marik rolled back over, a mischievous smile on his lips. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Come closer."

Bakura grunted, but he decided to play along. He stepped close to the bed.

"Come on, closer…"

Bakura leaned forward, close to Marik's face. "Now, tell me, what- Mmph!"

Both of Marik's hands shot up to grab fistfuls of Bakura's wet hair, pulling him into a hungry kiss. Any resentment that Bakura may have been harboring for Marik melted away. His eyes fluttered closed as he kissed back passionately. The hands released their vicious grip on the clumps of Bakura's saturated locks and grabbed his shoulders. One pull was enough for Bakura to climb into the bed on top of Marik. Marik smirked into the kiss, trailing his mocha hands further down Bakura's creamy back. Bakura smiled as well, pleasantly surprised by Marik's forwardness. Bakura licked Marik's bottom lip. Marik's lips parted, allowing Bakura's tongue to slither inside. Their tongues pressed against each other playfully, and each thoroughly explored the other's mouth. Suddenly, Marik rolled over, reversing their positions. He pulled back for a moment, panting.

Marik grinned broadly, staring into Bakura's eyes. He nuzzled into Bakura's neck, taking a deep sniff. "Mmm, you smell like you again, Fluffy."

Bakura smiled teasingly. "We could have done this sooner, you know."

"No way, you stunk! I was afraid that I would throw up on you or something," Marik countered. He lifted his head and softly kissed every bit of Bakura's face, from his cheeks, to his forehead, to his nose.

"Well, I suppose you have a point," Bakura mumbled, closing his eyes. He lay peacefully, preferring a shower of Marik's kisses over a real shower. Marik shifted down and nipped playfully at Bakura's neck. Bakura angled his head to give Marik more access, but he refused to open his eyes. He was in pure bliss.

This serenity was interrupted when Marik gave Bakura's neck a long slurp, from the collarbone to the jawline. Bakura's eyes shot open as a moan bubbled past his lips.

"Marik! Oh, Marik, I love you!"

Marik paused and lifted his head to look at Bakura. Bakura turned at least four different shades of red upon realizing what he had said in the heated moment. They stared at each other for a second before Marik gave a deviant smirk.

"Oh, so you like that, huh Kitty?" Before Bakura could protest, Marik shifted his body further down, effectively allowing their crotches to rub together, which cut off Bakura's complaint with another groan. Marik's head hovered over Bakura's chest, his pink tongue poking out ever so slightly. He looked up at Bakura teasingly while Bakura panted.

"Well, get on with it!"

Taking Bakura's invitation, Marik lowered his tongue until it just barely grazed Bakura's chest. He opened his mouth and licked slowly, leaving a trail of saliva from the left side of Bakura's chest to the right. Bakura shuddered as Marik licked sensually at his right nipple. He finally closed his mouth around it and sucked, careful not to use his teeth, while he pinched the other lightly. Bakura arched his back into Marik's touch. _"This couldn't get any better."_

Of course, just as Bakura mentally predicted, it didn't get better after that. The door slammed open. A tiny gasp was heard before obnoxious laughter rumbled through the cabin.

"Oh… oh my."

"Yeah, way to go hikari!"

Marik glared up at his yami. "Melvin, can't you see we're in the middle of something?!"

It looked as though Ryou and Melvin had just finished doing 'something' as well. Ryou's face was flushed, and his hair was so ruffled that it almost looked like his yami's. Melvin's clothes were also a little rumpled, and his smile was far too big to be about anything innocent.

"Ryou, you have some whipped cream left on your neck," Bakura commented drily.

Ryou blush grew deeper as he moved a hand to wipe it off. "Oh, let me get that, Ry-Bunny." With an impish smirk, Melvin swooped down and left a sloppy and wet kiss on Ryou's neck.

Ryou jolted at the contact and gave Melvin a light shove. "Mel- Bear, not in public, please."

Marik chuckled. "Oooh, Mel- Bear?"

"Ry-Bunny?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.

Ryou smiled sheepishly and put a hand behind his head. "Yes, well, we just wanted to let you know that Ann and Marie want to speak with you."

Marik rolled his eyes and groaned. "Ugh, fine, we'll be out in a minute."

Melvin gave them a nod before scooping Ryou up bridal-style in his arms. "Come on, Ryou-kun, I think you deserve an ice cream 'on me' this time." He carried Ryou away before he could protest.

Once they had left, Marik reached his hand over the side of the bed and rummaged around in Bakura's bag, refusing to get out of their current position immediately. He pulled out a plain white t-shirt and handed it to him, placing one more kiss on Bakura's pale chest before climbing off of him. After Bakura pulled the shirt over his head, he and Marik exited the cabin only to find Ann and Marie waiting for them directly outside. The counselors' decision surprised the pair.

"You're sending us home early?" Marik asked, his eyes wide.

Marie nodded. "Yes, your bus will be here soon to pick you up."

Bakura tried not to look too relieved. "Why are we leaving?"

Ann stared at him in disbelief. "You two have caused trouble ever since you arrived! It isn't fair for us to jeopardize the enjoyment of the rest of the campers just because you can't behave!"

"That, and, we felt a little sorry for you guys. You really have some rotten luck," Marie added, smiling sympathetically for once.

Ann sighed, calming down slightly. "Besides, it's clear that you two have already fulfilled the purpose of this camp. You've worked together and spent time with your partner to form a stronger bond."

Marik sweat-dropped. "Yeah, um, I guess I can't argue with that. Although, technically, we didn't really use teamwork when I saved Bakura's butt over and over."

"Hey, I saved your butt just as many times as you saved mine!"

"Yes, but my rescues were much more impressive."

"What are you talking about?! Those bees could have killed you! The snake that you 'saved' me from wasn't even venomous."

"So? I still saved you from a bear. A frigging bear!"

"I saved you from a rabid skunk!"

"Please, I would've been fine if you hadn't overreacted. And it wasn't rabid, just very protective of its mate."

"Which you were too busy cuddling to even notice the vicious animal about to tear into your flesh!"

Marie perked up at the mention of the skunks. "Wait, did you say that you were _cuddling_ a skunk?"

"Yes, it was unusually friendly."

"And, it never tried to spray you?"

"No…do you know this skunk, Marie?"

Marie smiled sadly. "I used to have a domesticated skunk that liked to roam. You say that she has a mate?"

"Yes, at least, we think they were mates."

"I guess that's why she never came back…" Marie looked towards the woods, her expression thoughtful, before she glanced at the road down the hill. "Oh, it looks like your bus is here. You'd better get your stuff together."

Bakura and Marik gathered their belongings and loaded them onto the bus. Ryou and Melvin stood outside near the bus and waved as it left. Melvin donned a devilish grin, probably happy that Bakura would no longer be able to interrupt his 'activities' with Ryou. None of their other classmates seemed particularly affected by the pair's departure, however.

Marik leaned his head against the window. "Thank Ra, it looks like our luck is finally turning around!"

"What's wrong, Marik? Weren't you the one that said camping would be fun?" Bakura teased.

Marik wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Are you kidding? We've been on some pretty boring field trips before, but none of them were as excruciatingly painful as this one! Everything went wrong."

"Oh, come now, Marik. Surely you can think of one part of this field trip that went right." Bakura shifted so that his leg grazed Marik's.

Marik looked up at Bakura, giving him a small smile. "Alright, maybe something did go right." He gave Bakura an affectionate kiss on the ear. "I did get you to admit that you _love _me."

Bakura felt his face ignite at the memory. "Th-That was purely a physical response!"

"I don't know, that was a pretty comprehensive statement to simply be a 'physical response,'" Marik purred, nibbling and sucking gently at Bakura's ear. Bakura grunted and turned his head, effectively taking his ear out of Marik's reach. He didn't want Marik to see his red face, the result of both Marik's valid accusation and his sensual touches.

Bakura felt Marik grab his hand, lacing their fingers together. He turned to look down at their hands before turning back to Marik. Marik's sweet smile was enough to weaken Bakura's gruff façade. He smiled slightly and squeezed Marik's hand.

"Florence?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too," Bakura blurted out, the words tumbling out before he could stop himself.

Marik let out a little squeal, wrapping his arms around Bakura's neck. "I knew it! Aw, you big softie."

Bakura growled quietly, still feeling embarrassed. "Whatever, anyway, we're going to be on this bus for the next five hours. What do you say you cut the chatter and make that mouth of yours useful?"

Marik nodded, his smile growing. He kissed Bakura tenderly on the lips, but he pulled away before they could deepen it. "Hey, wait a second, I just thought of something."

"You were thinking? That sounds dangerous."

Marik ignored the comment. "I've been kissing you this whole time. I want you to kiss me."

"Uh…" Bakura looked away, suddenly shy for some reason. "Maybe I don't want to kiss you."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, Ra, just because you're so eager to slobber all over me doesn't mean I necessarily have to do it too."

Marik smirked. Even if Bakura hid his face, Marik could still see the back of his pale neck burning. Without warning, Marik slipped his hands under Bakura's shirt and started tickling him.

Bakura jumped at the tingly sensation. "Ahahaha!- M-Marik!-Ahahahah!- S-Stop that!" He tried in vain to scoot away from Marik's fingers without toppling from his seat.

"Not until you give me a kiss!" However, Marik's attack didn't last for more than a few moments before Bakura began tickling his exposed midriff. "Ahahahahaha!- Ba-Ahahahaha!-Bakura!"

Bakura smiled evilly, backing Marik up against the window under his relentless barrage of tickles. Marik made unsuccessful attempts to grab Bakura's hands or start tickling him again, but in the end, all he could do was try to cover vulnerable parts of his body.

Meanwhile, Bakura thoroughly enjoyed having Marik sweaty and out of breath under his ministrations. After a while, he forgot about what had started this tickle fight in the first place, and, pinning Marik's wrists, he leaned down and planted soft kisses on his midriff. Marik smiled triumphantly as he panted. He didn't remind Bakura that he had won, since he knew that Bakura would stop if he called any attention to it. Besides, Bakura himself was worth more bragging than the result of any argument.

**Author's Note: Alright, so this was the end of Bakura and Marik's experience at camp. Do not worry, the final chapter, a brief epilogue, is coming soon!**


	11. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Dear John **_**or **_**Letters to Juliet.**_

Because of the 'unusual circumstances' of Bakura and Marik's 'experience' ("A bad luck disorder," as Marik called it), neither was disciplined as a result of being expulsed from the Team-Building Camp. They were also excused from their classes for the rest of the week, which left them plenty of time to pursue other 'special' interests. The rest of their class returned from camp the next week, talking happily with one another about how much they enjoyed it, much to the pair's annoyance. Currently, Bakura stood at his locker after first period on Monday morning, listening to the conversation of Yugi's group of friends that was gathered nearby.

"So, it's official?"

"Yep, me and Kaiba are officially going out!"

Joey grinned broadly and linked an arm through Kaiba's, while his expression remained indifferent. "That Class-Bonding field trip really did the trick, huh?"

Bakura snorted and shoved a book into his locker. "Yes, the proceedings went especially well after the first two days," Kaiba commented snidely. Bakura glanced back to glare at him.

"Yugi and I certainly had fun beating you and Joey in every competition, Kaiba," Yami boasted.

"Yami, that isn't nice!"

"So, it's the truth."

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Apologize for being rude."

Yami raised an eyebrow, but Yugi looked sternly at him. Yami sighed. "Fine, Kaiba, I'm sorry for stating the obvious, when your inflated ego clearly can't take it."

"Nothing could hurt my ego," Kaiba said nonchalantly.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad to be home," Tristan remarked, "The activities at camp weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but it wasn't fun sleeping above Duke while he's rolling around and talking in his sleep about half-naked women all night."

Everyone turned to look at Duke curiously. Duke shrugged, not denying Tristan's statement.

"I had fun too. Lots of fun," Melvin said, grinning at Ryou. Ryou flushed and elbowed him in the rib, silently ordering him not to elaborate.

"Hey, Joey, what's that ring on your hand for?" Yugi asked.

"Oh, Kaiba gave it to me yesterday. He's wearing one too." Joey took Kaiba's hand, showing it to the group. Kaiba remained expressionless, although one might swear that they saw a tint of red in his cheeks.

"You mean, like a promise ring? Oh, that's so cute!" Ryou smiled brightly.

"Yeah, he said that he'd waited a long time to have me as his, and he didn't want to lose me any time soon." Joey beamed, unaware that Kaiba looked uncharacteristically flustered.

"Joey, aren't you going to be late to your chemistry class?"

"Oh, you're right! Come on, Yugi, Ryou, we've gotta go!" Joey smiled, kissing Seto's cheek before rushing to his next class. Yugi grinned at Yami, lightly squeezing his hand before running after Joey. Ryou threw a shy glance over his shoulder at Melvin before starting after them. However, Melvin caught his arm and pulled him back into his grip.

"Melvin, I need to get to class!"

"What's the password?"

"Please?"

"Try again," Mevlin teased, nuzzling into Ryou's shoulder.

Ryou sighed and turned around in Melvin's arms. "Melvin, I don't have time for this."

"Can we do 'this' later, then?" Melvin asked hopefully.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "You're impossible." He stood on his toes and gave Melvin a brief, chaste kiss on the lips. "Maybe later, but only if you behave today." He quickly slipped out of Melvin's hold and sprinted down the hall.

Melvin put his fingers to his mouth, smiling dreamily. "I wonder if Ryou would like a promise ring..."

"Ra, you guys are so whipped," Bakura chuckled, pulling the last of his needed books for his study period out of his locker.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Yami demanded.

Bakura smirked. "Oh, all I meant was that I think your boyfriends are excellent trainers."

"You're mistaken, Florence. Joey is my pet, not the other way around."

"Well, I suppose that I can't deny that, especially after the way he's drooled all over you."

Melvin frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, Bakura. Ryou hasn't changed me in any way."

"Really? In that case, would you like to help me blow up the chemistry laboratory up after school?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm going out with Ry-" He stopped short before glaring at Bakura. "Whatever, that doesn't mean anything."

Bakura gave a hearty laugh. "Man, you're all a bunch of pussies."

Seto narrowed his eyes. "What about your boyfriend, Bakura?"

"What, Marik? Well, unlike you sissies, I wear the pants in our relationship, so I don't let Marik give me orders. He-"

Bakura was interrupted by a noisy, wet smooch on his cheek. He jumped, startled, before turning to see Marik. Marik smiled brightly at him. "There you are, Florence! What's taking you so long to get to the library? Come on, we still need to decide whether we're going to watch _Dear John _or _Letters to Juliet _tonight."

Bakura blushed, hearing snickers behind him. "Marik, I-"

"Come on Marshmallow, we don't have all day. By the way, did you brush your hair this morning? I told you to start brushing your hair in the morning." Marik grabbed Bakura's arm and dragged him in the direction of the library. The giggling escalated into louder laughter as they walked further away.

Marik slowed his pace, looking back innocently at Bakura. "Is there something wrong, Fluffy?"

"I know you did that on purpose, Marik," Bakura grumbled.

Marik released Bakura's arm and fell back in favor of walking by his side. He smiled sweetly. "Now, Kitty, you and I both know very well that I top just as often as you do."

Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling. Marik gaze softened. He took a step in front of Bakura, blocking his path. Bakura halted, allowing Marik kiss his cheek again, a little less obnoxiously this time.

After Marik pulled back, Bakura found a less innocent smirk on his face. "I'm sorry Bakura, I've been a naughty boy."

Bakura pout slowly twisted into a grin. "You have, honey. I think you deserve to be punished."

Marik smiled back, inching closer to Bakura until he was nearly on top of him. He said softly, "You're right. I think I deserve a _spanking…_"

Bakura tried to hide his excitement at the mention of that possibility. "I'll put that on my to-do list."

Marik looped an arm around Bakura's waist and purred, "Bakura, it's wrong to procrastinate. Why do later what we could do right now?"

"At school?! Marik…"

"Come on, we have study hall for the next hour. I promise you won't regret it..." Marik slipped his pinkie down Bakura's waistband.

Bakura swallowed, staring intently at Marik. "…So, the janitor's closet on the third floor?"

"Now you're talking, Kitty."

**Author's Note: And so our tale ends with our heroes bravely venturing forth to snog in a closet. XD Thanks to all my reviewers, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing. Until next time, this is AngelRosemary, signing out.**


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